The journey at night proved as troublesome as the girls had anticipated, having to fight off Dingos, Wargs, and even a Giant Wombat on the prowl.

Though the girls were in no danger, Debora tearing a scamp limb from limb and Yue reducing fauna to chunks of smouldering meat proved too much for the horses. In the end, the girls resigned to set camp and wait out the night, only now bereft of tents and sleeping bags thanks to Gwen's bolt of emerald lightning.

Debora again came to the rescue, using her Minor Stone Shape to create clay shelters, going as far as to fabricate a bathroom and a showering area.

Tommy took up guard duty as the girls showered, cleaning off the grime and dust soiling their clothes. Gwen used her Conjuration to summon water for the girls while they showered under the makeshift shelter.

"Don't feel bad for what happened, Gwen," Elvia comforted Gwen from within the stall. "I am sure it was out of your control, something to do with the Spirit of the serpent or the strange ritual. Besides, Debora's safe. We can all put this behind us when we get back to the city."

Gwen handed her a towel, the tiny blonde girl wiped herself down carefully, though the act itself attracted the everpresent red dust.

Yue was next; she didn't seem too affected by Debora's near-death encounter. Instead, she seemed more annoyed with Debora's display of vitriol more than anything else.

"Gwen, I know you think you owe Debs or something, but that's bullshit, alright?" she harshly whispered as Gwen kept up the reservoir. "Seriously, I don't mind her on the team, but if she's going to disrupt our teamwork, she should fuck off. That migloo is not a good fit."

Gwen said nothing as while Yue hung a towel around her neck and walked out of the stall brazen as anything, making Tommy pine for the bush.

"What did Yue say to you?" winsomely, Debora inquired when it was her turn, lathering her honeyed-skin while Gwen stood one wall away.

"Nothing in particular," Gwen lied.

"Hey, I don't blame you for that accident. It's the fault of those savages."

"Please, Deb, that was me. I was the one who contacted the Spirit."

"Bullshit. When did any of our magic ever screw up like that? Our spells always worked as intended, no chaos, no stupid possessions, no random effects. I am sure of it, Gwen, don't blame yourself."

Gwen averted her eyes when Debora stepped from the cover of the stall, soapy as anything.

"Join me? You can summon the water from in here too."

Gwen shook her head ."Sorry Debs, not now."

Debora shrugged, She returned to the shower and washed herself off. When she finished, she likewise slung the towel around her neck, facing Gwen with a full-frontal silhouette, she called her name.

"Gwen, come here."

"Wha—"

Gwen met Debora over the barrier.
With a swift motion, Debora leaned in and kissed her full on the lips.

"Debs!" Gwen snapped back. "No! I am still dirty!"

"I don't mind." Debora pressed in. "Dirty is good."

"Debora Jones. No." Gwen shifted the timbre of her voice. "NO."

Debora shifted sulkily, her face a mask of displeasure, her brows furrowed in frustration.

"Why not?" the girl asked, her voice full of hurt.

Gwen wondered if she should just tell it to Debora straight rather than waiting for her to acknowledge the truth. The girl was getting far too aggressive. She took a deep breath— but was interrupted by an interjection from Debora.

"You know what. I don't want to know." Debora waved a hand at Gwen, moving away still half-naked. "Good night."

Gwen breathed a sigh of relief.

She entered into the now muddy shower stall and tested its integrity. In the reservoir, she conjured a stream of water into the indent in the ceiling, watching it flow into the tin bucket. Of all the girls, Gwen was the one with the direst need of a pleasant drizzle.

She began by washing away the paint and grime, feeling the dissolution of the pigments under the strain of flowing water. They pooled at her feet with a rainbow hue, each dye distinct enough in density and particle to remain platonic even in an ankle-deep puddle. The cold water felt good, even at night, the Outback was hot and sweltering. Slowly, she collected her thoughts fell into the momentary zen of shower thoughts.

Her hand moved toward the back of her skull, where the absence of the scale still stung. Without it, she felt incomplete.

With a flicker of her finger, she materialised the item in question. In her hand, the scale shimmered alluringly with a scintillating reflection, scattering the moonlight.

"Kin," Almudj had told her.

"Almudj is kin, not enemy," Old Goolagong had said.

Gwen pulled back her hair and envisioned the scale once again attached to her neck, an extension of her own body. Warmly, Almudj's gift kissed her skin. Instantly she sensed a feeling of affection, a wordless joy. She felt connected to something bigger, older, something benevolent and motherly all at once.

"Kin." Gwen cupped the last of the water and offered it to the night, letting it run through her fingers, watching it displace over the red earth.
The Conjure Water spell dispelled while Gwen was distracted by her thoughts. The cessation of the flowing stream disturbing the lull of her midsummer dream.

Without words, Gwen stood in the stall, dripping with droplets that caught the moonlight, painting her silver.

She ran a hand between the modest swell of her white breasts, feeling the pronunciation of the ribs that jutted out underneath them. Her hip bones too were protrusive to the touch. Despite the undeniable toll of her Void Magic; she felt revitalised. Was her renewed vigour a gift from Almudj? Gwen had no doubt it was. The evocative feeling of kinship was undeniable.

Gwen towelled herself off and slipped into another pair of clean shorts and singlets. She walked barefooted towards the girls, finding a space between Debora and the others.

Debora had nothing to say to Yue. Yue likewise, was too stubborn to make good with Debora. Elvia sold herself as Switzerland but decidedly favoured Team Yue when a conflict ensued.

"Can we talk?" Gwen asked them.

The girls murmured their agreements. As a gesture of goodwill, Debora materialised stone benches for them by moulding the smooth sandstone beneath the soil.

Gwen produced bottles of refrigerated beverages, still half-frozen, from her Storage Ring. She passed them out amongst the girls.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"You all mean a lot to me." Gwen began, her eyes scanning over the girls one by one. "But senior school, we are going to go our separate ways. These next six months that we share are potentially going to become some of our best memories."

"We have the Inter-High competition before us. A competition that as you know, is supremely important to me. It is also important for you guys in that it would determine your university offers. Your career tracks. For us, if we can demonstrate our skill and talents, it would serve as a far stronger application than any result we can produce at the final Government accreditation exams."

"So— I ask you guys, as your friend and as your teammate, to please put your differences aside."

The delivery was more for Debora's benefit than Yue's or Elvia'. Yue had her apprenticeship with Alesia, and Elvia had Medical school.
The girls murmured their agreements.

"Pretty please?" Gwen put her hands together and made a begging motion like a praying monk. "For my sake, for all our sakes."

"I'll do it!" Elvia extended a hand toward Yue and Debora.

Yue took Elvia's hand.

"Sorry Debs, let's work well from now on."

Debora too extended her hand, and the three of them exchanged awkward handshakes.

"Likewise, I am sorry for my outbursts. I'll try my best from now on," Debora replied, her eyes glancing at Gwen.

"Thanks, everyone," Gwen intoned appreciatively.

"There's still three hours until sunrise, who's keeping watch?" Yue asked.

"I'll do it. You guys get some shut-eye. I am wide awake right now." Gwen offered herself.

Debora shaped some more shelter, within which the girls slept on their towels.

Tommy was already asleep, sprawled out against a tree in-between urine scented grass marked by the horses. The mental pressure of resisting a peek as four Lady Bosses strutted about in various states of undress was too much for his hot-blooded mind to bear.

Gwen turned to the silhouetted horizon and meditated. Her consciousness turned inwards, examining her astral body, observing her collection of Sigils.

Evocation glowed the brightest.
Conjuration a close second.
Then Divination.
Transmutation.
Her Abjuration Sigil was still dim, but there was a noticeable difference since she started to use Shield regularly.

The gate of her Void element shimmered darkly.
Her gate of Lightning blazed and crackled, only it was brighter somehow, more vivified.

Curious, she channelled her Lightning mana. Once its power struck her conduits, she was in no double that her Affinity had increased.

Caliban!

Instinctively, she knew her Void fiend was the culprit. The void creature had consumed the vital energy of two Wankas. Both beasts had been heavily enchanted, their cores overflowing with elemental Air— and AIR was one of two Prime Elements that made up Lightning.

Does this mean that she could level up her Affinity for Lightning by consuming Air Elementals? Gwen wondered. Would she need to find an equivalent source of nourishment in those with the Positive Energy trait? That would be impossible. If she consumed benevolent Lantern Archons, the Church and the Tower would put a sizable bounty on her head.

Still, if her hypothesis was correct, did it mean that she could also come into possession of other elements? With a little reflection, Gwen realised the answer was no. She was confident that she felt nothing when Caliban consumed the Land Shark. It was already a miracle that she could tap into two.

Her Master had a unique talent of tapping into all four Primary elements, but Henry was one in a million. If asked to create spells of pure water or fire, Henry would struggle to perform his channelling with a practical level of efficiency. Thus far, she had never heard of anyone possessing two Elements.

Then there was that emerald lightning that Almudj used as well. It was unlike anything she had cast herself.

How could she tap into that hidden power?

Gwen thought about the three months ahead.
She would have to make a decision very soon.
To train in Abjuration would mean she had a viable shield. She could protect Elvia and or Yue, act as their Tank.

To train in Divination meant she had better awareness of the battlefield, maybe even Scry on enemies from afar.

To train in Transmutation meant she could focus on self-buffs, eventuating in Flight at tier three.

She could also empower her Evocation spells, try to hit tier 4 and gain access to more destructive incantations.

Finally, she could perfect Conjuration, develop new attacks for Ariel and Caliban, or focus on fortifying her persistent effect spells.

The dilemma was that she only had time for one of these things, and she had to maximise her time investment. For the duration of her watch, Gwen pondered her options, playing scenario after scenario over in her mind.

Then, without warning, the indefinite horizon became a thin white line.

A red-gold disc rose, dispelling the lustrous purple blackness of the softening night. The silver glow of the moon warmed, waning in intensity, replaced by a honey-coloured diffusion that soothed the distant horizon. The limestone ridges kissed the shining tree-tops, setting fire to the once dark bush.

Even as a frequent traveller of the Outback, she felt shaken by the majesty, caught in the glory of the wide, brown land.

"Thanks, Alumdj." Her words flew into the wide blue yonder.

The girls were soon roused and readied for the journey ahead. Gwen used her long-range Message device to contact Rhodes, and the ranch-owner arranged transport for the girls back to Surya's estate.

The rest of the journey took half-a-day to reach the highway and another six hours from the shield-gate. It was late afternoon when they arrived at Rhodes's ranch.

Upon their parting with Tommy, Gwen collected in a small pouch a good handful of LDM crystals worth a thousand or so dollars for the jackaroo. He tried to decline the offer, but Gwen wouldn't have it.

"You deserve it, Tommy," Gwen said sympathetically, hugging the jackaroo. "You did so much for us, and all we did was sour your relationship with your folks and put you in danger. More than anything, I should be apologising to you and asking for your forgiveness."

"You are too good, Missus Boss," Tommy replied, his voice cracked from gratitude. "Come back and visit anytime, you know where Tommy is."

"I will Tommy, take care of the horses!" Gwen gave Tommy a peck on the cheek, watching him return to the other drovers on the ranch and smiling as they punched him.

Rhodes then took the girls home, asking them about the trip.

The girls had nothing but praises for Tommy.

"Yeah right, I reckon he was just scared shitless the whole time." Rhodes was more than pleased. "I'll let the boy know he'll be getting a raise, courtesy of you being his referee."

Rhodes stopped for a chat with Surya before he left.

The girls made their curtsies known to the old Enchanter and rushed for the showers, far too fatigued to remain for small talk. Gwen however, stayed with her grandfather, sharing her knowledge of the event.

"Good grief." Surya swallowed uncertainly. "Turn around."

Gwen turned, collecting her hair in one hand.
Surya placed a finger on to the scale affixed to her skin and incanted a command for the item to loosen itself. It refused to budge.
He pulled at it with his fingers, watching it tug at Gwen's skin.
Gwen cried out when the discomfort became unbearable.

"That's interesting." Surya scratched his beard. "I feel like the scale has fused with a part of your skin. I could remove it by force, but, it doesn't seem harmful in any way. I've only seen this in Legacy items."

Gwen begged Surya for more details.

"It's like this," Surya explained. "Very rarely, an item has been in the family bloodline, or passed down from generation to generation, or survived such cataclysmic magical ordeals, that they gain a special kind of bond with its users. The Japanese Mages had a specific term for them, which they call Tsukumogami, applicable to tools or enchanted heirlooms."

"The effects differ, of course, but a common fact is that these items become more powerful as the user grows more powerful. They possess the ability to imbue boosted effects onto future generations of users."

"Does this mean the scale will grow more powerful as I attain higher tiers of magic?" Gwen moved forward to the edge of her seat, her risen octave betraying her anticipation.

"I don't see why not." Surya smiled, tapping the scale gently. When her Opa touched the scale again, Gwen moaned, feeling as though someone had poked her insides. "Oh dear—"

Gwen moved a little distance away. "Thanks, Opa."

"And your story." Surya scratched his white beard. "I wonder why the serpent attacked your friend Debora but no one else."

Gwen raised a few points of hypothesis—
One, Debora was from an old family of staunch Christians. There was such a thing as Faith Magic, and Debora did get Blessed by the Bishop.
Two, Debora was the only one of them in possession of an elemental spirit.
Three, Debora was somewhat hostile to the Indigenous folk they had met the entire way, barring Tommy, with whom she was already acquainted.

Surya shook his head. None of these theories satisfied what Gwen had described.
"Maybe it was just a coincidence?" Surya suggested, shrugging his bony shoulders. "I'd hardly imagine that a primordial spirit would care for a high school girl. Well, besides yourself. What was it like to channel its power?"

"It was like energy was building up from the ambient mana of the earth and sky," Gwen described. "It didn't feel like a spell."

Surya didn't have an answer to that either. So much knowledge about the Spirit Magic of the local tribes was censored, destroyed, their Walkers castigated by witch hunters and then butchered. He doubted that even the indigenous folk themselves had an answer for Gwen's circumstance.

"Just concentrate on the road ahead," Surya advised, his voice mellow. "Sometimes, all a man can do is wait and see."

"I know, Opa. Thanks."

Gwen bid Surya goodnight, planting a wet sloppy kiss on her Opa's forehead.

"I'll be gone first thing tomorrow morning. I'll see you at Kwan's estate in the avo or at night. Get some rest. It's going to be a busy day ahead. Remember to dress nicely! We're expecting guests!"

When Gwen finally arrived at her room, the other girls were already asleep.

She took another shower, a hot one this time, and felt the tension just melt from her weary bones. She didn't possess the same constitution as the others, and the horse riding had taken its toll. Towelling off, she fell into bed and was instantly asleep after forty-eight hours of wakefulness.


The girls bid one another goodbye the next day.
Despite their reunion at Blackwattle within the week, tears were shed, and hugs dispensed. Gwen blamed it on the adolescent hormones. The girls were at an age where every emotion seemed magnified, every separation, no matter how brief, seemed touched by tragedy.

Surya left with Gwen's girls, grinning sheepishly. Tess and Melissa had their duties for the day, so Gwen had until noon to get ready and embark on the five-hour journey to reach Kwan's Kirribilli manor.

On the guest bed, she laid out her wardrobe on the bed.

It was going to be a night of consequences. She wasn't just dressing to be beguiling; she was selecting a battle garb. What she needed was something vibrant, powerful - something that suggested willful independence. Mentally, she fancied the green curtain-gown Scarlet O'Hara had worn in Gone with the Wind. When Gwen had watched the scene in technicolour 4k, it had sent shivers down her spine.

Unfortunately, she had to make do with branded dresses her dreaded 'other' mother had bought her. Chronologically, she laid out the loot from her junior years to her senior year. The collection was akin to an anthropological study of Helena's head, measured by the hem of her skirts and their narrowing waistlines.

In both worlds, she was one of those girls who had hit puberty early, long before her mind was capable of comprehending the alchemical changes taking place. When the other girls were still mewling, adorable children, she had sprouted to five-feet like a new yew. When her friends reached their growth spurt, she was a six-foot crane amongst clucking hens.

She wanted something that showed off her post-Almudj figure — not something sexual, but something elegant and aristocratic, arrogant even.

Her eyes flowed over the selection, landing upon a porcelain white one-piece inlaid with lapis-blue china. She tried it on, doubting the dress could fit. To Gwen's surprise, it did; her unfortunate, Caliban-induced anorexia allowed the tapered waistline flawlessly. The hem was precariously short, but Gwen was prepared for that too. She'd earlier purchased a comfortable pair of white spats which would serve as safety, cropped high enough on her thighs to give the illusion that she was wearing nought but the dress itself.

Pair with a pair of pumps, she inspected herself. With an additional fifteen or so centimetres from the pump, she was a veritable Brobdingnagian. To practice, she stalked through the compound to the stunned expression of NoM labourer.

In Tess' bathroom, Gwen piled her hair this way and that, finally settling on a sweeping fringe framing her face. An application of eyeliners mascara finished the look.

In the reflection, she appeared terrifyingly vivacious.

By the time Gwen had stowed her wardrobe back into the Storage Ring, Mel had returned to take Gwen to the station.

"Woa!" Mel covered her face dramatically. "That's your regalia, huh? Let me get a pic."

She returned a moment later with a Lumen-recorder and snapped images of Gwen standing beside the water feature.

"I could sell these for crystals, you know." Tess grinned. "Get em blown up and printed, put em in a magazine. What say we go halfsies?"

"You're too much!" Gwen quipped, happy to be flattered.

"Well, let's get going. Surya is going to be a happy man."

They drove to the station, where Gwen caught the midday service out to the city. As the carriage filled, the passengers were surprised to find themselves in the presence of silver screen actress. From central, the Taxi driver stole glances at her, almost causing an accident.

At Kwan's, the late afternoon sky remained a blazing ultramarine, the waters of Bateman's Bay a translucent teal. Against the bay, Gwen extended her legs perpendicular to the cab, her heels tapping the concrete. Instantly, a guard wearing a white shirt and dark tie attended her arrival.

"Ms Song." the man bowed. "The family is within. Please follow me."

Gwen told him to tip the driver for his service and the guard obliged, throwing a fifty into the cabbie's window. They were halfway up the stairs leading to the elevated foyer when Gwen heard the familiar voice of Richard coming down the stairs.

"Gwen! My word, you look a million HDMs! I had been dreaming up compliments, but you've wiped them from my mind." The young man's eyes were smiling.

Gwen left the guard for Richard, moving across the marble tiles with a tap of her needlepoint heels, drawing heads from all across the compound.

In the flood-lit corridor, Gwen appeared larger than life.
The cousins embraced; Gwen giving Richard a peck on the cheek.

"Now that you're taller than me. I feel small and emasculated," Richard confessed, returning a peck on her cheek. "Can you not walk too close? I feel both intimated and questionably aroused."

Gwen laughed and punched Richard in the arm,

"You brute!" Richard remarked, sliding an arm around her to cup her waist. "Come, let me take you in. How high are those heels? I'll have to get the Transmuters to add another inch to my shoes."

The manor was exactly as Gwen had left it the last time. Opulent and tasteless. It spoke loudly of how much money the inhabitants possessed and little of anything else. She clicked-clacked her way through the foyer and into the open living room.

"Gwen! My beautiful niece!"

A voice that could only belong to Uncle Kwan echoed across the vaulted ceiling. Unlike last time, Gwen was now prepared. This time, she had support. This time, she had a plan.

"Uncle!" Gwen left Richard and embraced Kwan. This time, the bulbous man appeared diminished by Gwen's implausibly long-legged figure.

"Have you gained weight?" Kwan lifted her, then allowed her to land.

"No more than you, Uncle."

It took a second for Kwan's ire to catch up. Gwen knew the man was conscious of his weight and hated having it mentioned.

"Come see your aunty!" Kwan deflected, his tone no longer amused, leading Gwen towards Tali.

"Did you have to say that, dear?" Tali met her a critical eye. "Has our baby bird has become a peacock?"

"Eagle," Gwen corrected her, a smile upon her lips. "Sea eagle, preferably."

Tali measured her with a sideways glance.

"You look, lovely dear." She swallowed a little bitterly. "Too lovely in fact, who'd known the little girl who'd cry because she couldn't fit into her mummy's new present would be so stunning now?"

"The dress I couldn't fit into?" Gwen spun, sensing the hem flutter and the conversation around them quieten. "This is that dress. It fits just fine now, thanks for asking."

Tali chose to change the subject.

"Dinner's a buffet, just help yourself to whatever." The woman paused. "Your mother's going to be here with her new husband and your brother. For Surya's big speech."

"Good for them." Gwen controlled the tone of her voice. "I am starving already, guess I'll help myself."

Her Aunt Tali retreated.

Richard rejoined her.

"I want to say nicely done, but that would make me a terrible son, so nicely done." He offered her a flute of bubbling champaign.

"You're a great son." Gwen took the glass and clinked Richard's own. "Who could honestly say that they are a better son than you?"

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Oh, I won't be here for much longer, a few years at most. Prince's had my military training deferred, but I'd probably do it anyway once I get to London."

Gwen raised an exquisite brow.

"You're going to a Tier 1 city?"

"Orders from above, from London, I mean. I was the dux of the School of Conjuration. It got me a one-way ticket to the real world."

"That's amazing, Richard, congratulations. I am happy for you." Gwen squeezed his arm.

"Which makes me a terrible son see, cause I can't take the old parents with me, not until I become a Magus or rack up enough Contribution Credits to open up a migration application."

"I know some of those words," Gwen admitted. Tier 1 cities, the whole ordeal was like another world that was currently beyond her.

"Nonsense, I bet you'll be moved to a Tier 1 city in no time. Which city do you fancy?"

Gwen considered it. She always dreamed of going to England, but there was also Southern China, where her father's family supposedly originated. London was the seat of Old Magic, but the Shanghai of the 00s provided incredible economic opportunities. If Gwen wanted to use her talents from the old world, that was where she needed to be.

"Shanghai, London maybe New York?" Gwen stated, unsure of her choices. "I would love it if my friends could come too."

"Yue, probably. Elvia, not so much. I believe there was a Debora too, no? That girl could only dream of your potential."

"Not Elvia?!" Gwen looked shocked.

"Decent healers are a dime a dozen in the capital cities. Elvia is a cutie, but unfortunately, nothing too special in the real world. She doesn't even have a Spirit."

Gwen was not happy to hear that. She wasn't happy at all.

"Fear not, just get her imported over once you make Magus, rack up some CCs and you're good to go. Hell, you can keep her as your pet if you honestly felt like it."

"I am not thrilled to hear that, Richard."

"Sorry, I'll shut up now. You know how it is. I get excited." Richard took a sip. "How about we get some food, meet some people?"

"Sure." Gwen took a deep breath and controlled the sense of unease rising from her chest.

At the buffet, they met with familiar faces.

"Ah, Patrick and… Derek, how lovely to see you."

Patrick spun and clicked his heels. The young man looked different. He had just started his military service, and it seemed to buff him up, make a man out of him.

"Ms Song. The greatest pleasure. You do look lovely."

Gwen allowed Patrick to mime kissing her hand. She didn't curtsey but instead shook his hand afterwards, feeling the sweat in his clammy palms.

Beside her, Derek's eyes had almost fallen out of his sockets. They were staring intently at Gwen's long, white legs. His face gave the expression of someone struggling to look away and failing.

"Derek, Gwen is speaking to you. Don't be droll," Richard reprimanded, sounding like a dog had just shat on his front lawn.

"Sorry, Richard." Derek's gaze returned to eye level. "Hi, I am Derek."

"I know— it's good to see you again, Derek." Gwen shook his hand as well, watching the man's face burn a salmon pink. With the height afforded by her pumps, she towered over Derek and Patrick.

"To your health." Richard tipped his glass towards them.

The four of them clinked flutes. Derek mumbled an alibi and quickly excused himself, retreating somewhere with fewer eyes to brood over the unpleasant encounter.

Patrick stayed on. This time, he was making a good impression of himself, making casual small talk about Prince's recent activities and some interesting tidbits of his military training. Thanks to his father's position at Suncorp and effort of his own, he will be conducting his military training in an Arial Mage Wing stationed near Barrington.

Other young men and women came and joined them, offering congratulations to Richard to marvel at Gwen's svelte cousin.

"How come you're not at Lilith's?" A peppy young woman with a permed blonde bob chirped, covetously measuring Gwen's sculpted face.

"I was a late bloomer," Gwen replied jovially. "I came into my awakening late."

"Still." The girl looked around conspiratorially. "You're Richard's cousin, and you're beautiful and talented, so how come we've never seen you around?"

"Digging a little deep there, Piggy." Richard coughed.

"Peggy." the girl puffed out her cheeks. "Petunia Wallace, pleased to meet you, Gwen."

"Pleasure." Gwen shook her hand.

"You're welcome at Lilith's anytime. I am on the SRC board, so I can show you around the grounds if you like."

"I might just take you up on that offer someday soon, Petunia." Gwen flashed a winsome smile, watching her face light up with pleasure.

Smalltalk followed. The girls hit it off nicely and exchanged details on their Message Devices. Halfway, Gwen noticed a perceptible dimming of the hall's conversation volume.

Even Petunia stopped speaking when Gwen paused to stare at the entrance of the foyer.

Her mother had arrived.

At the entrance to the rear deck stood Helena Huang, the daughter of the House of Huang. It was the first time that Gwen had seen her in the company of her new husband— an older man, tall and mature and old fashioned. There was Percy too, next to them, cringingly dressed in an ivory tuxedo.

Percy looked taller by at least an inch since Gwen last saw him half a year ago. She wanted to go and greet him immediately but refrained when her mother's eyes held her in place. The last time they had met was at the Principal's office, and she had fried her mother with a Shocking Grasp.

Gwen's jaws clenched. Through force of will, she made her body relax, assuring herself that the night was long and Surya would soon be out to put an end to the matter.

But her mother did not approach.
For the next hour, Helena did not even look her way.

Gwen felt butterflies. She fought down a bout of anxiety, annoyed at the immediate delay of her confrontation. Her mother's cult of personality was powerful, and she still wasn't immune.

Gwen watched her mother kissing Kwan and Tali and then Richard. She watched her mother kiss an endless number of people, most of whom she did not know.

"There's your daughter," Richard declared much too loudly for polite conversation. "Right over there, look. Lets me point her out to you. Hi Gwen!"

Gwen waved back.

Helena's facade was one of annoyance. A chortle escaped Gwen's nose. She had to turn and hide her mirth when Richard made a face.

Kwan shot Richard a warning. Aunt Tali didn't care, in her eyes, Richard was her faultless first-born. He could burn the house down, and she would love him unconditionally.

"So that's my step-daughter, the infamous Gwen Song." A deep and resonate voice rang out. Gwen's step-father appeared to be a man accustomed to having orders followed. Having saved his wife from awkwardness, Helena's husband made his way across the floor toward Gwen.

The man was impressive, Gwen had to admit. He was a Clint-Eastwood type of bloke, broad in the shoulder, well-muscled for his age. She recalled that Morye once complained loudly and sulkily that her new step-father was a retired Colonel and an Earthen Enchanter. Presently, the man worked for Sydney's Frontier Militia as a consultant. Helena had met him at another one of Kwan's parties.

Gwen found it remarkable that even with her statuesque attire, the man still stared down at her. But it made sense. Her mother was only a little shorter than herself. One of Helena's favourite gripes was that, when she had been married to Morye, she had been too embarrassed to overshadow her meter-seventy husband.

"Tang Hu, but you can call me Mr Hu." Tang paused for effect, "Or Father, if you prefer."

When she registered "Father" coming from the man's lips, Gwen almost spat her juice in Tang's face.

Tang looked displeased, his stoic face contorted with scrutiny. He measured her with his eyes and shook his head. "Helena told me you were out of control, a wild child. Just look at what you're wearing. You're still a young girl, Gwen, act like one."

Gwen wanted to throw the glass of sparkling juice in his face. This dress was bought and gifted by Helena! She had mocked her when she couldn't fit into it! Knowing or otherwise, the hypocrisy was astounding.

Not only was this Tang taking possession of her; he was also sanctimonious!

She had to deal with men like Tang before in McKinsey, men with big-dick, cock and bull attitudes. She knew how to deal with men like that. You had to castrate them from the get-go.

"Oh, I would love to have a strong hand to guide me, sure." Gwen lowered her eyes demurely, seemingly taken aback. "I've been living by myself, after all, no discipline, no rules, doing whatever I wanted. Sometimes, I feel so lost."

Her passivity seemed to have tickled Tang's expectations. He was a simple man when it came to it. There was little wonder Helena had him tied around her finger, playing him like a fiddle.

"Mr Hu, I mean Tang, I heard that you are a remarkably powerful Enchanter, is that true?"

"Indeed," Tang replied confidently. "I am tier 5 myself, tier 4 Abjuration as my supplementary, I am an armourer by trade."

"Oh." Gwen made an expression of disappointment. "Just tier 5?"
Tang furrowed his brows with vexation.

"My Opa, he's kind enough to take me in at the moment, you know, I hope mother had told you. He's a tier 7 Enchanter, Tier 6 Transmuter, Fire specialisation. He only takes commissions from the Tower though, so I am sure he's not that famous."

Tang's face darkened.

"I have the utmost respect for Master Huang." He intoned flatly.

"Then he would be rather upset if you wanted to be my father. A step-father who is only mid-tier. I mean, what would be the benefit?"

A silken silence engendered.
Somewhere, someone snickered.

"You should watch your attitude, young lady."

Tang was not used to back-talk, Gwen could see that. He was unused to someone who threw shade, much less, in his eyes, from a wee of a teenage girl. Why look at her, he could snap her in half with his bare hands.

But Gwen also knew that Tang wasn't her enemy. He was being used by her mother, just as she had been.

"Yes, you're right, Mr Hu. I am afraid we started on the wrong foot. My mother has that effect." Gwen extended a hand. "It's nice to meet you."

The sudden change seemed to catch Tang off guard.

He shook Gwen's hand, noting the firmness of her shake, the way her delicate fingers fitted into his calloused palm with confidence.

"Nice to meet you, Gwen." Tang packed away his attitude.

"No need, I am to blame entirely." Gwen leaned in and touched his forearm, flashing him a winning grin. "You learn to grow up fast when you live alone."

"You're a strange young woman."

"All women are strange, Mr Hu."

Inwardly, Gwen breathed out. She had embarrassed people like Tang before, in public where they would lose their temper and make a fool of themselves. Tang deserved better.

She observed her mother, who had been watching grimly from the living room. When Tang parted, her mother's face lost some of its lustre. Helena stilled possessed no desire to speak to Gwen.

Likely, Gwen suspected, her mother was waiting to see what Surya had to say.

"HELLO! HELLO! Everyone!"

The crowd's attention turned towards the second floor.
Surya stood against the bannister rail, surveying his domain like an old king.

As regal as the old Mage looked, Gwen secretly knew the truth - Surya probably had just finished his later afternoon nap after a too hearty meal.

The Huang family lifted their chins to regard their progenitor, each with expressions mixed with awe, wonder, paranoia and contempt.

Surya Huang, Patriarch, Magus, Master Enchanter-Fabricator of the Tower Oceania, now addressed the crowd.


Surya coughed and cleared his throat.

"Friends, thank you for coming tonight. I hope that you have all enjoyed yourselves. I know that in recent years, I have been somewhat reclusive, an old hermit hiding in my workshop, so before we begin. Let me apologise for my irresponsible absence."

Scattered applause answered Surya's self-depreciative jest. Many of the guests were indeed interested in why the old Enchanter had emerged from his self-imposed exile half a decade ago.

"For the young among you who are wondering who this old, talking scarecrow could be, I am the Master of the Huang Clan, its Patriarch, Surya."

He turned his face to find his children within the crowd.

"Kwan, Helena, come to me."

Gwen watched her uncle and her mother walk from the crowd and stand underneath Surya, who lorded over them via the second-floor foyer that overlooked the open living room and afforded a magnificent view of the ocean.

"My children, the fruit of my loins."

"Father." Kwan bowed respectfully.

"Dad." Helena curtsied, the side-slit of her dress splitting distractingly, drawing eyes from around the room.

Surya nodded. Of the two, it was Helena whose life he lamented. His daughter's beauty, especially in her youth, had blatantly outshone every other facet of her life. It afforded her such convenience and advantage that it had consumed her. Only now that Helena's comeliness was inevitably waning with each passing year, she grew desperate and scornful.

"You have done well for yourselves," Surya continued. "I applaud you for expanding the family fortune and allowing the clan to flourish."

The crowd clapped, almost all of them were friends and associates of Kwan. The New Years party had been planned for months, but Kwan had only known about Surya's desire to be present a fortnight ago. That was why he was nervously smiling and golf-clapping along with the crowd. Where was this charade going? Kwan wondered. Why did Surya come out of his reclusive existence as an eccentric artist?

"Yet," Surya continued. "Wealth, money, land, crystals, these are all but a means to an end."

The crowd fell silent.

"Look around you. Forget the canapés, forget the beverage in your hands, forget this mansion, forget the harbour view. Look - LOOK out there and see the reason why anything matters at all."

The crowd turned. There was the dark pier, scintillating with lights that refracted off the softly sloshing sea. Beyond the harbour, there was a thin sliver of light upon the horizon - the Shield Barrier.

"Survival! That is all!" Surya raised his voice. "That is the only thing that matters. None of this. Not this House, not the wine in your hands, not the expensive clothing on your back, not the money in your pockets— it is only our ability to carry on that matters."

The crowd was now confused. Was this suitable for a New Years speech? They certainly didn't come here to listen to sermons. Was Kwan's father senile?

"Survival." Surya bit the word with his teeth clenched. "Richard, Gwen, Percy, come."

The children gathered behind their parents. Gwen could smell her mother's perfume rolling off her like a tide, triggering unpleasant memories deep within her consciousness.

"The next generation, my pride and joy."

"Grandfather." Richard bowed - legs slightly apart, his shoulders squared, a vestige of Prince's discipline.

"Grandfather." Percy bowed casually, inclining his upper body.

"Opa." Gwen curtsied, crossing a slender white leg over the other, arching herself gracefully.

Gwen commanded the full attention of the crowd. Tall and majestic, her presence inspired a form of awe. Her natural grace was such that viewers were first overwhelmed, then overcome by a sense of disbelief that something so perfect could exist so close at hand.

Looking at the crowd, Surya could read the faces of those below. Appreciation, jealousy, and outright desire, it was plain who was thinking what.

"Survival," Surya repeated pointedly. "I am very pleased with my grandchildren. Kids, tell the guests about yourselves."

The guests regarded one another.
Richard was the clear winner, a Conjurer with unfathomable talent. Percy had yet to awaken, but he was most definitely going to be something special. Gwen was recently exposed as a Lightning Evoker, impressive in itself.

Richard stepped up.

"I, Richard Huang, have reached Tier 5 in Conjuration. I am currently progressing onto my Tier 1 Abjuration Sigil. My affinity with Water is currently 5."

The crowd exploded.

"He's almost a Magus!"
"At Eighteen, no less!"
"Richard, congratulations."
"Kwan, you old dog! Your House is on the up and up!"
"You're going places lad!"
"Congratulations, Master Huang!"

Surya settled the crowd.

"Percy, how is your progress?"

Percy looked at his mother, who nodded conspiratorially.

"Grandfather, I am not yet fully awakened to my abilities, but I can inform you that I do possess a unique talent."

"Oh?" Surya raised a bushy eyebrow. "Do tell, my grandchild."
Percy sucked in his breath, making an expression that resembled someone anticipating a vicious blow.

"I have this." Percy opened his hands and channelled mana through his body. His face paled.

Percy's fingers grow frosty with ice.
The crowd stepped closer.
Percy's face paled even further, painfully groaning with each passing second.

An older guest picked up a thimble full of the white crystalline material and rubbed it between his fingers.

"Salt!" he uttered with a voice several octaves higher than his normal range. "Percy's a Salt Mage?!"

Others also took pinches of the stuff as Percy gracelessly panted.

The crowd tasted the Salt to test the validity of the man's claim; they crushed it with their fingers, feeling it dissipate as the mana diffused into the air.

The resulting uproar was grander than Richard's. The guests instantly piled compliment upon compliment onto Kwan and Helena, toasting the family on their windfall.

Percy too received endless praise from people in the room both young and old, envious and genuine, bathing in a moment of triumph. His pale cheeks flushed with a rose-pink of pleasure and vanity. He had been keeping the secret at his mother's behest for months, but it had been all worthwhile. Glancing at her brother, Gwen saw that Percy stole a look at her face.

Gwen felt a chill as the implications of Salt flashed through her mind.
Percy smirked.

According to Gwen's Master, the element of Salt was the union of the Negative Plane and the Plane of Water. It was a versatile element, capable of creating barriers, projectiles, and at higher levels, debilitating desiccation. It was a peerless element against living creatures, especially against water-based beings.

What Percy did not know was that his sister's worry wasn't for herself, but him. Even now, she was reeling with dread and horror. SALT was an element that, like her Void spells, fed on the life of the user. Percy was just a boy! How is it possible that a boy going through puberty was burning his vitality to perform a fucking show and tell?

Gwen grit her teeth. She wanted to slap her mother across the face. She needed to warn Percy, then hug him to her chest.

Gwen looked up at Surya, whose expression was ambivalent.

"Sorry, Gwen. It looks like I need you to show off more than your Conjuration," her Opa whispered through a private Message spell. "Show them a potential, but reveal nothing concrete."

Gwen nodded at Surya, affirming his advice.

The small gesture did not escape Helena's hawk-eyes. Even now, she smirked with pleasure. She just knew the old codger was up to something, and that her son's unique talent had disrupted whatever the hell the old fool had planned. Yet, what could trump her son's unmatched ability?

It took Surya several coughs and a resounding slap on the oakwood bannister to finally calm down the crowd. They were now all gathered beside Helena and Kwan, leaving Gwen isolated on the other side of the room.

Kwan was less than thrilled that Helena's boy would one day outstrip his own, but Richard had his accomplishments in the present. Richard was going to a tier 1 city. Lord knows when Percy could do the same.

The volume finally fell to a murmur.

"Finally, we have a member of the family who may be a stranger to many of you. Here, is Gwen Song, my grandchild and Helena's first. Gwen, can you please tell us about your talented self."

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Gwen turned to the crowd and gave them a dazzling smile.
The crowd was now significantly less impressed with her exterior talents after the last two bouts of pleasant surprises. After all, if Gwen was merely going to say that she was a Lightning Evoker, she was still dead last in a trial of three contenders.

"I am a Tier 3 Evoker."

The crowd golf-clapped.

The expectant crowd was then both confused and puzzled when Gwen began an invocation NOT from the School of Evocation. With relish, Richard recognised her Conjuration School of Magic, grinning as Gwen worked her sorcery.

"Ariel!"

A bolt of lightning struck the marble floor, materialising into a marten that gazed upon the crowd adorably.

"Eee! Eeeee Eee!"

With a jolt of mana, Ariel grew into its combat form, becoming the size of a large, electricity-clad mongoose that snarled and spat. The stunned audience felt their eyes bulging in their sockets, their hands covering their mouths in disbelief.

"I am also Tier 3 in Conjuration." Gwen snapped her fingers, and a halo of electricity erupted from Ariel.

"Tier 4 in Lightning."

The crowd had gone silent.

Gwen retracted Ariel, and the creature stepped back into the pocket dimension, fading from sight with a crack of localised thunder.

"One last thing..." Gwen channelled a little magic to tease the guests' appetite.

Gwen extended her hand.

A whip of pure plasma erupted from her hand. She flailed it overhead effortlessly, allowing its length to writhe and crackle.

"Though it is a work in progress, I have attained some control over the Sigil of Transmutation."

"How is that possible?" A shrill voice blurted out. Gwen wasn't too pleased to see that it was Percy, her brother, who had made his doubts known. "It must be an illusion! Grandfather hired an illusionist!"

Richard stepped up.

"Any decent Mage worth their SALT could tell you that Gwen had just now manifested both Conjuration and Transmutation. Don't make yourself more idiotic than you already are, cousin. If you want to attend Prince's, you need to have class."

Percy appeared as though someone had just caught him by the throat and choked him. Besides Percy, Helena's face was turning all kinds of colour, from a blanched white to a dark liver.

Richard began to clap.
Then Surya clapped.
Clap, clap, clap, the sound of applause filled the living room.
The guests joined in, first one, then a dozen. Soon all of them were clapping, even Kwan and Tali.

Gwen blushed with overwhelming pleasure, her ego becoming well pampered.

The family's guests were ecstatic. They were witnessing the rise of a Magister. An existence that numbered under thirty even in a nation as large as Australia. Considering Gwen's age, what if she becomes the Master of a Tower? A being whose policies decided whether they lived in poverty or prosperity, whose decisions dictated who lived and died to the Beast Tide.

Besides his cousin, Richard felt such delight. He knew it! Richard couldn't wait for her to graduate so that they could go on some adventures together, test out their powers against forces unknown. With Gwen's versatility, he needed to do was to train his Abjuration Sigil. It would be glorious. They would be the dynamic Conjuring duo!

Meeting her cousin's, Gwen flashed Richard a heart-warming smile.

Surya banged on the bannisters again.

"Alright, alright, settle down. As you can see, the House of Huang is going places."

The crowd laughed, earnestly this time. Laughs and hoots and shrill whistling echoed across the vaulted living room.

"Now that we are properly informed, here is my officious decision. The reason why I took this opportunity to speak to you."

Surya took a deep breath.

"As many of you may know, I am an artist first, and an Enchanter second. I have little interest in maintaining our clan. One of the sole reasons why I remain the Patriarch is that the head of a House must be at minimum a Magus of good reputation."

"As such, I desire to retire from my role as Patriarch in the coming years, and I wish to confer my estate and my powers onto younger strengths so that I may spend my final decade, or two, doing the things I love."

"My decision, therefore, is to choose Gwen—"

"NO!" A voice shrieked across the hall, interrupting Surya's speech.
It was Helena, Gwen's mother.

She was trembling with rage. She could scarcely believe her ears. This had to be a joke! The clan, the estate, all of it was supposed to be Helena's! Tali had told her that Richard had been selected to transfer to London, to finish his education in a tier 1 university. It meant that eventually, Kwan would also leave for London with his wife. It implied that Helena would be the sole heir to the clan, the only one of her generation left in the country. So what that she wasn't a Magus? Who else was there take it from her?

Her palms sweated. The House, and Surya's investments, the country estate, all of it should one day be hers.

Now the old fool wanted to give it to Gwen? She saw the way he looked at Gwen. Percy? Fine, but not Gwen, not that little vixen!

And in that case of what her? What of Percy? Gwen would receive all the resources of the Huangs. After all, the little harlot had three schools to train, and that meant exponential expenditures. She could just see it now, the old codger laughing behind her back, Gwen cackling like a hyena behind Helena's back.

"You can't do this!" Helena's hazel eyes flashed with fire and fury. "It's not right! I'll serve you to the courts! I'll challenge you at the Tower! No patriarch can deny their children their rightful inheritance!"

Besides his sister, Kwan agreed. Richard as heir? Fine, but how could Gwen come out of nowhere steal their resources?

"You dare challenge my decision, Helena?" Surya intoned dangerously. "Perhaps I should disinherit you right now, but that would disqualify Percy. Would you like that?"

By now, Percy's face had gone from ashen to deathly. How was he going to compete with a Magister in training? He wasn't even adequately Awakened. When he became a Mage, Gwen would be a Magus. When he became a Magus, Gwen would be a Magister!

Looking at his sister, Percy realised the strange bitterness eating at his chest. He gave it a name, and it was jealousy. Unbidden, he wanted to lash out at her, to impale her through the chest with a pillar of crystalline Salt.

Richard raised a hand.

"I don't want the inheritance anyway. Well done, Gwen."

"Richard!" Kwan called out in alarm.

"Son!" Tali held a hand to her lips.

"It's true." Richard turned to his parents. "I'll build my own legacy in London. It's far better for me that Gwen expends the wealth we have gathered here, then join me overseas. Think of it father, with Gwen and myself in London or Shanghai or New York, how could we fail?"

Kwan knew that his son had a fair point. Did he honestly want to contest a future Magister over something as trivial as wealth? If Gwen or Richard were to come into their own, he would have power and influence, connections and business opportunities for days.

"Richard, take it back…" Tali was still begging her son.

"No," Kwan interrupted his wife. "The boy knows what he is doing."

"But…" Tali felt cheated.

"Come here." Kwan pulled his wife aside, signally their acceptance of Surya's decision.

The crowd's attention shifted back towards Helena, who was still squaring off against Gwen. Her husband, Tang Hu, reached her side to calm her, but the woman was now livid.

"I refuse to accept your frivolous judgement!" Helena snarled. "She's a Song! She'll never inherit your name. Richard should be the heir, or we could change Percy's surname, and he could be the heir!"

Her hysterics only seemed to make Surya more determined.

"Helena, silence. You cannot be the heir because you are useless!" Surya shouted the insult, striking his daughter like a blow. "You cannot survive what will come for us all! We are NOT safe in our enclaves, there're monsters out there, you dimwit! Only the best of us will survive!"

"You're insane!" Helena screamed back at Surya. "You're senile! The Coral Sea War is over! We've had peace for two decades! We're not in the Eighties, old man! We live in new worlds!"

Surya's brown skin grew purple with rage.

"Opa!" Gwen's voice called out, her voice soft and mellow and full of care, a juxtaposition of her mother's dagger-sharp notes. "Please don't be so mad, you're getting much too excited."

"You!" Helena turned to her daughter. She broke free from her husband and advanced on Gwen, striding towards her like an Arabian dervish, a storm of emotions fulminating fury.

Gwen's heart rose to her throat.
She fought down the bile threatening to spill from her oesophagus and faced her mother, channelling a calming flow of electric mana to give her eyes that distinct quality which had made her felt intimidating and in command.

Her mother stopped an inch from Gwen. She was about to slap her daughter, but then realised she would be striking a future Magister. Suddenly paralysed with indecision, Gwen's mother waited for her husband to reach her side and restrain her.

She would use another approach.

"How could you!" Tears the size of marble gushed from Helena's eyes as though she was the one who was the Conjurer. "I gave you so much, Gwen! I gave you everything! I bought you the clothes on your back! I gave you that dress you're wearing right now!"

The sudden change caught Gwen off balance. She'd been anticipating a fiery slap across the face. Now she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Her mother was much too talented an actress for her good. Even in a situation like this, she wanted to guilt-trip her? Did she think Surya had just given an eleventh-hour speech on survival because of PTSD and dementia? It was like her mother lived in another reality.

Tang's face was red too, touched by his wife's outpouring of emotion. His eyes begged Gwen to give them a reprieve, anything that will stop the pain of this public disgrace. Unfortunately, Gwen could no longer afford that generosity. She wasn't about to ruin her Opa's great plan by being soft and compassionate toward a woman she knew to be a snake in the grass, a Snake-kin wearing human skin.

"I'll be sure to pay you back ten-fold, I promise. You'll have more ill-fitting dresses than you know what to do with," Gwen replied earnestly. "I'll still take care of you, mother. Like you said to me, you may not be worth much, but you won't starve to death."

"You!" Helena collapsed into broken sobs, a wailing woman overcome with grief.

The crowd murmured, their faces red from second-hand embarrassment.
Gwen grit her teeth.
Surya looked as though he was thinking of striking this daughter down here and now.

"Enough!" a voice called out above them.

The crowd had thought the utterance came from Surya, but Gwen knew that it had not. She knew that voice too well, too personally.
Beside Surya, there was now another gentlemen, older looking, in a tweed jacket and a dark blue vest.

Sufina the dryad leapt gracefully from the second-storey railing. It landed amidst the crowd, enveloping them with shivering, fallen leaves of autumn as her colour changed from crimson and ochre to a vivid, vibrant emerald.

The gathered were amazed by the sight of a Demi-human woman with a dress of leaves and flowers who embraced Gwen, instantly smothering her with a dozen kisses.

"Oh! I missed you so much!" Sufina rubbed her cheeks against Gwen, quivering with unadulterated joy. "That energy! Your vitality is stronger than before! Oh, I adore it."

"I can't believe you made me wait in that room for a whole thirty minutes," the second speaker said to Surya. "I could have used a cuppa and a cucumber sandwich."

"Sorry, things got a little out of hand," Surya apologised. He continued complaining in muted tones. "Who'd think my bloodlines have Water, Salt, lightning and void. What the hell is wrong with my bloodline? Am I old Prussian aristocracy?"

The second speaker patted his friend on the shoulder, then approached the railing.

"You all know who I am," he stated as a matter of fact. "I come to serve as the arbitrator for Master Huang, as a personal favour."

The crowd knew who had addressed them, quivering with dizzying excitement.
A Magister.
A fabled War Hero.
A Sovereign within these lands.
He was Henry Kilroy, Magister and Master of the Ordo Arcanum Oceania, head of the Council of Ten.

"After consultation with the patriarch of this house, I concur that Surya's decree as Patriarch is sacrosanct, I have thus taken the liberty to verified, then entered his request into the Tower's records."

"Furthermore, from this moment onwards, the junior Mage known as Gwen Song is under my protection. Any information pertaining her talents is strictly classified Tower business."

Henry's gaze inclined downwards upon the stunned Helena, whose mouth was still making an 'O' for horror.

"If any of you have questions or would like to challenge my judgement, let it now be known, or hold your peace."

There was silence, a silken silence immediately pursued by the synchronised sound of knees striking cold marble.

In the next few seconds that transpired, the crowd, Kwan included, had fallen to one knee and made the ultimate gesture of supplication, their hand placed upon their hearts in a pledge of affirmation.

Helena stood her ground, although by now she was a mess of flesh in her husband's hands, who also knelt respectfully. Though not in a military sense, Lord Kilroy was nonetheless his direct superior.

"Then that is all," Henry intoned satisfactorily, his stoic voice of command taking up a lighter tone.

_BANG! BAN-BANG!_

The sound Sydney's harbour fireworks erupted across the bay. In the next moment, the whole city came alive with music and cacophonic pyrotechnical displays.

"Happy New Year," Henry said to them all, raising a hand to hail the kneeling guests. "May you all live long and prosper."


"Master!" Gwen bowed toward her Master as he took a breather on the second-floor living room. "I am glad for your presence, but why are you here? I imagine a Mage of your station would be far too busy."

"When everyone thinks you're busy, you're surprisingly free." Henry laughed. "Come closer, Gwen, let's take a look at your progress. Surya tells me you have worked hard while on the estate."

Gwen stood in front of Henry and concentrated on activating her Sigils one by one.

Henry's eyes glowed with the scintillating hues of Divination, measuring the wavelengths of mana radiating off Gwen's Astral Body.

"I see significant growth in your Abjuration Sigil," Henry intoned pleasingly. "Your Evocation and Conjuration are moving nicely as well, though there are many more months of training there yet."

"And Tier 4 Lightning? Very impressive, Gwen. I can sense some growth in your Void affinity as well, though as always, I would act conservatively in its utility until you gain access to a source of replenishment."

Her Master inclined his head satisfactorily.

"Very good, Gwen, you have kept yourself busy."

"Thank you, Master," Gwen replied respectfully. "I wish to run a hypothesis by you if that is at all possible."

"Of course, child, go on."

Gwen informed Henry of her encounter with Wanka, about her suspicions regarding Caliban's elemental consumption. She watched Henry rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"If this is true, Gwen, then I would venture to take you on some targeted 'Purges' in the next few months."

"That would be lovely, Master," Gwen answered delicately. "On that note, I am unsure what to focus on in the coming three months, do you have any advice?"

Sufina appeared beside Gwen again, caressing Gwen's hair greedily and coiling her tendrils around her waist. The dryad's leaves were now vibrant and glossy with the scent of spring.

"Conjuration, of course!" Sufina uttered with that sultry voice of hers. She had taken on Gwen's likeness after intoxicating herself within the presence of the serpent's primal vitality. Gwen wordlessly watched her doppelgänger strut about the place, stomping about with two pointed stilts that made up her otherwise curvaceous and well-formed legs. The sight was alien, to say the least, disturbing and discerning all at once.

Henry seemed used to Sufina's antics and simply allowed his Familiar to do as she pleased.

"Yes," her Master answered after a few seconds of deliberation. "For combat against other Mages, there are few schools as powerful as Conjuration."

"Can you elaborate, Master?"

"Sufina, can you demonstrate?"

"Of course, Henry."

Sufina moved with a graceful leap, performing an aerial pirouette before gracefully landing on the seamless marble tiles.

Henry concentrated on channelling mana into his familiar.

"Minor Elemental." Henry incanted, and a half-dozen shrubs sprung into life and began to form into a line. They faced Gwen and saluted with their stiff limbs.

"This is a useful spell, good for distractions and cannon fodder, but beware the next step." Henry fed his mana into the summons.

Immediately, their cute, shrubbery form turned cruel with splinters and spikes, the limbs of the miniature trees grew barbs that gleamed with venom.

"That took a significant fraction of mana," Henry noted. "Not an easy feat if your mana pool is low."

He dismissed the trees with a wave.

"Next, one of my favourites. Morden's Faithful Hound."

Gwen's eyes gleamed as a wooden dog appeared on the floor where the spell had struck. It was huge, easily the size of a fully grown Mastiff. The dog stoically gazed over the surroundings, taking in all that it surveyed.

"It can see in the dark, it can detect invisibility, and it can defend an area to its death."

Henry waved his hand, and the dog launched itself at Gwen, stopping an inch before her face. It was so fast that she had barely time to react.

"That's incredibly useful," Gwen declared, touching the wooden dog with her finger, patting its head. It even smelled nice. "Does it do much damage?"

Henry chuckled.

"It can defeat a tier 3 Magical Beast at your tier, at my tier, it can take on tier 5 to 6 creature. It's a useful utility spell."

"Would I be able to summon, you know… a 'dark' dog?" Gwen asked carefully.

Henry tried to imagine that.

"What a terrifying suggestion." He shuddered at the thought. He had modelled his hound on the old hunting dogs they had in Hungary. What manner of exotic and nightmarish beings would emerge from Gwen's imagination?

Her Master dismissed the dog.

"Then there's this signature spell of the Transmutation school." Henry invoked the magic effortlessly. "Dimension Door!"

Sufina blinked out of existence and appeared a few meters away, waving at Gwen.

"Teleportation!" Gwen gushed with delight. Gods, she wanted access to teleportation as much as she wished to Fly. A Mage with both could only be endangered in combat if they were OOM.

"Yes, but a complicated spell to learn. If you fail to materialise or end up inside a wall, expect to be bruised black and red for a month, inside and out."

Gwen nodded solemnly, promising that she would learn the spell and not abuse its purpose.

"Finally, though not the most tasteful of spells, this is one of the most useful, especially with Sufina's help." Henry pointed at the ceiling. "Eilard's Dark Tentacles!"

Tendrils of barbed plants sprouted from the ceiling and began to search for targets. Not finding any hostiles, they coiled back, forming a hedge of lianas.

"Can you guess what the great boon of this spell is?"

"It can be cast on ceilings?" Gwen asked.

"Of course, there's that." Henry chortled. "I can trap, slow or restrain, as well as disrupt other Mage's incantations. Unlike the dog, which cannot move far from the spot, the Tentacles can be summoned within thirty metres of the caster and has a reach equating your affinity."

Gwen gushed. All the spells seemed so good!

"No new Evocation?" Gwen asked just in case.

"I wouldn't think so," Henry said. "Normal Mages do not train in multiple schools at once. My advice is to focus on Conjuration. The spells I have noted all possess excellent utility for offence, defence, and disruption."

"I shall take on your advice, Master," Gwen replied. "I shall learn Faithful Hound, Dark Tentacles, and Dimension Door."

Gwen also wanted the Minor Elemental spell, but she already had two familiars who consumed her mana and her vitality mercilessly. The hound was a persistent effect, and it could detect invisibility, implying that she would not be at the mercy of an invisible enemy like the last time at Elvia's manor. Dark Tentacles, meanwhile, just sounded as useful as it was nasty.
Then a thought struck her.

"Master…" Gwen asked. "Can I maintain two copies of each spell with my different elements? I have two familiars, after all."

Henry paused, then his eyed widened.

"Don't try it without supervision." Henry swallowed nervously. "I could access all four primary elements, but can only use one copy of the spell per invocation. You are special, though. As you possess two elemental gates, you may very well be able to summon two elemental effects."

The door to the private living room opened. Surya entered, his face alive with celebration.

"What'd I miss?" he inquired jovially.

The old Magus had enjoyed a rare night of things going his way. The wayward daughter had been put in her place. His son, Kwan, actually showed support for his decisions for once. His three grandchildren were all doing exceptionally well. The future looked bright.

"Good God, what's that!"

There was a mass of writhing tentacles on the ceiling of the second-floor living room.

Surya stared at Gwen, who flushed with excitement. He glanced at Sufina, who had taken on a scandalous version of Gwen's form and was flitting about the place.

Surya's artistic mind felt a sudden inspiration for a new art piece.

"Oh, just a demonstration." Henry snapped his fingers and the tentacles faded into the aether. "Gwen has chosen to specialise in Conjuration for now."

"I wish she had found Enchantment." Surya sulked. "I have so much to teach you as well."

Gwen forced herself to smile. She wasn't sure that she could stomach Caliban eating any other Mages while they were alive and kicking. That was a road that, once taken, was a path of no return. Elizabeth was the pariah that had taught them all that lesson.

"How are things down below?"

"Dying down," Surya replied. "You should be down there as well. The young folks are all clamouring for you."

"I will, thanks, Opa." Gwen hugged her Opa, then relocated downstairs. From the lounge, the duo watched her go.

As soon as Gwen was gone, Sufina instantly reached Henry's side, nursing him a cup of her Golden Mead.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Thanks for coming out. I appreciate it." Surya expressed his gratitude.

"It's nothing. That girl is going to be terrifying in a few years. I only hope she can remain as pure and incorruptible as she is now."

"Ain't it about time you retired, old man? I just announced my retirement, after all. Give Gwen a few years, and she'll be running this place. Just gotta hold the fort until she's ready."

"Are giving up on the Salt child?"

"Yes, unless his mother gives up first. You saw what he's like out there. She's got her teeth well sunk into his neck. I wonder what the hell his father is doing. Bloody useless Abjurer that he is."

"Indeed," Henry replied drily. "How curious that Gwen would emerge from an otherwise mundane union. How fortuitous."

"Speak for yourself," Surya joked.

Henry smiled a wane smile and sipped his mead.

"I should be getting back. Tell Gwen I'll see her at the grot for Conjuration training every Saturday and Sunday in addition to her group work. I'll send over the Abjurer once their school starts next week."

"Thanks again," Surya noted. "Take care, mate."

Henry waved. There was a silver flash of Conjuration as the beacon at the Tower locked on, and he was gone.

"Hey! She's back!" Someone called out excitedly.
"Gwen!"
"Miss Song!"

A dozen voices called out as Gwen descended the circular stairs that led down to the living room. She appeared even more striking now that her abilities were out in the open. Many who had thought Gwen merely an uncommonly talented sorceress now openly vied for her favour.

"Cousin." Richard sidled up to Gwen, drink in hand, passing her a flute of sparkling juice.

"Thanks, Richard, but you didn't have to give up your inheritance," Gwen said seriously.

"Nonsense! Do you think I could concentrate on being a legendary Conjurer if I had to deal with house politics and business deals? You ever wonder why Kwan was such a terrible Transmuter?"

"Well, if you put it like that," Gwen chided Richard mirthfully. "Are you hoping that I'd waste all my time dealing with the politics so you could remain top-dog?"

"The business of a Magister runs itself," Richard answered effortlessly. "People would fall over themselves to do business with a Tower Master."

"How could I possess a Tower?" Gwen asked. A base of her own was something that was still too distant to even imagine. "I am not even a Magus— I don't even have a single School in the middle-tier!"

"Bah, a matter of time." Richard raised his glass, and many of those listening to their conversation did the same. "To Gwen and her Tower. May I occupy the level below the Master Suite!"

Glasses clinked, waves of laughter passed through the guests.

"How many schools of Magic do you know anyhow?" Richard tested the waters, activating a subtle earring and its glyph.

"Why, who wants to know?" Gwen's eyes narrowed, Richard was using a private Message spell. "Just the two and a half."

"Not two and Transmutation, and Abjuration?" Richard lowered his voice, compressing it somehow so that it took on a conspiratorial air.

"Of course not, don't be absurd!" Gwen replied quietly, but she couldn't use private Messages spells yet nor possessed a Magical item to do so like Richard, so she had to lean in closer to his ears.

The intimate act drew envious looks from those who had been hoping for a closer interaction with the duo.

"Fine, at least tell me if your Opa is the giving you all the crystals to feed your familiars, I don't see you generating currency at all."

Gwen blushed. She had been using her Opa as a kind of a limitless credit card. Richard was right though, Gwen needed to disembark the Opa Sugar Train ASAP if she ever wanted to strike out on her own.

"It's a secret!" She playfully punched Richard in the ribs.

Richard's face blossomed into happiness. Gwen felt her skin crawl. Maybe he liked getting beat up? Did Richard have that kind of inclination? After all, nobody could be completely perfect, and Richard was no exception.

What Gwen didn't know, was that in her moment of celebration, she hadn't noted the little word game in Richard's line of logic. She had just experienced a moment of triumph which offered relief from her demonic mother. Her Master had shown her a fabulous future, and Opa had virtually proclaimed her as his heir. She was drunk on victory. It was in moments like these that men and women were often at their weakest.

Beside her, Richard was beyond thrilled. He had finally confirmed that Gwen had more than one familiar. It could only mean one of two things. Either Gwen had surpassed the constraints of existing magical theory and had developed an original spell to gain two Lightning familiars - or she simply had two distinct elements.

His eyes measured the ebullient girl beside him, scanning her remarkable physiology for clues. The blue glow that Gwen now maintained in her eyes was the effect of the Quasi-elemental Lightning, but other than that, she merely appeared paler than he recalled. Was it Air? Or Ice? He was dying to find out, but Gwen was accosted by a dozen people who surrounded her like supplicants around an altar of knowledge.

Richard felt a yawn coming on. Typically, the guests would be long gone, but thanks to the events of the night, they had chosen to stay on, far extending the hospitality of his father.

Would Gwen stay overnight then?

He wanted to know more about her as well, about her power, her past, her life growing up. These facts had all been denied by Gwen's spiteful mother, who had kept her removed from the family.

Curiously, he regarded his cousin, who flitted about the men and women effortlessly. She seemed so in her element, picking up conversations from here and there. Where did she acquire that kind of skill? Richard wondered. As far as he knew, Gwen had been gloomy and quiet, at least according to Helena.

"Thank you all for coming, friends! Happy New Year!" Richard's father was likewise growing irritated with the guests who insisted on staying. His household staff were all stifling yawns and straining to keep awake. Surya had informed him that Lord Henry had gone, so there was no more reason to be polite within his own home.

"Next time, friend!" he called out to them and began to make the rounds, shaking their hands and ushering them toward the door.

For the first time in her life, as a team of four - Kwan, Tali, Richard and herself, Gwen and her family shook hands and well-wished the guests at the door.

"Visit me at Lil's!" Petunia Wallace hugged Gwen before making her way out. "Transfer if you can!"

Once the guest was gone, the living room grew cold.
Gwen shivered, her dress didn't offer much protection, and the harbour air was frigid when blowing in from the Tasman Sea. Richard pulled a coat from his Storage Ring and placed it over her shoulders, catching her looking at him strangely.

"They teach you that in Prince's?" Gwen returned winsomely.

"Are you staying over? Surya is using one of the guest rooms. I'll get the servants to set up another for you."

"Please." Now that the public was gone, the tension drained from Gwen's body. "My feet... beautiful is pain."

Richard nodded and led his cousin into the house, where the housekeeper was already working way overtime.

"Thanks, Nam." He nodded approvingly to the middle-aged NoM woman. "After you're done, go get some shut-eye. I'll let Dad know that everyone can get a day off tomorrow, fully paid."

"Glad to be of service, sir." The housekeeper bowed and left the room.

Bypassing Richard, Gwen rushed into the bathroom and wiped away her mascara-laden lashes, her foundation and her bronzers.

"I'll be back." Richard left Gwen to her labour.

He returned half an hour later, changing out of his suit into comfortable shorts and a tight white-tee with a jug a mug on a tray.

"Gwen, are you decent?" He knocked.

"Come in!"

Richard came in, Gwen was likewise in shorts and a white singlet. They even had the same pastel shorts. Richard laughed and placed the cup and jug down beside Gwen on the nightstand.

"What's your plan from here on out?" Richard inquired.

"Training, lots of training," Gwen replied happily. She couldn't wait to tap into those Conjuration spells at the higher tier. "Then group training with my team for the Inter-High, we're supposed to be getting a new member as well."

"What of all your secrets? Could this new member handle the likes of yourself and Yue?" Richard asked casually, leaning back against his chair.

"What secrets?" Gwen asked innocently, now that she was au naturel, her skin glowed.

"Oh you know, the fact that you have multiple schools," Richard pointed out.

"People know that already though."

"What about your second element? When are you revealing that?"

Gwen stared at her cousin.
Richard leaned in so that they were face to face.

"I want you to trust me, Gwen," he intoned carefully. "I am your ally, I proposed to give up the inheritance for you, and I've done just that. I merely ask that you don't keep me out of your life."

Gwen blushed. This Richard, what a thing to say.

"Is that a proposition?" She inquired coyly, lowering her voice, hoping to tease him a little.

"Are you offering?" He countered, his face not moving a muscle, his demeanour cool as a cucumber.

"Fine." Gwen relented. Somehow, she simply felt that this cousin, who did not exist in her world, was truthworthy. It was a gut feeling, but one toward which she held a strong opinion. "But no telling your mates at Prince's, Lord knows I have to square off against your school's elite team."

"I can tell you their stats if you like," Richard offered. "If you can keep a secret yourself."

Gwen considered the offer, all's fair in love and war, right?

"I do have a second element. It's— Void."

Richard drew in a shuddering breath.

"Can… can I see?"

He instantly caught his transgression.

"No, no, never mind. The cost of using a Negative element. Sorry, no need to show me. I believe you."

Gwen hadn't wanted to show Richard either, but she felt smitten. Richard had always seemed a curious creature to her. Sometimes, he felt akin to an esoteric monk. Richard often remarked on her beauty, but more in the manner of a man appreciating the gentle curves of a Bonzai. He was a gifted Mage - but didn't seem to crave magical power for the sake of power itself. Likewise, the way he blustered through one faux pas after another, was more so an act to push everything and everyone away— including his parents.

"It's okay, I want to show you," Gwen returned earnestly. "It's just an unempowered summon. I'll be right as rain after a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast."

She gathered her wits and invoked the Conjuration Sigil.

"Caliban," she called out.

The netherworld worm slithered through time and space and made itself known in the guest bedroom.

"Shaa! Shaa!" Caliban sidled up to Gwen and nuzzled her lovingly.

Richard gripped the handrails of the tub chair with such ferocity that his nails dug through the leather. Gwen's cousin sat and regulated his breathing for a few seconds until his heart rate fell within acceptable parameters for polite conversation.

"That is a Void Beast." His voice shook. "They shouldn't exist. The academy has never found a specimen, living or dead."

"You know about them?" Gwen was surprised.

"I know of them," Richard replied. "Can I… touch it?"

Gwen willed Caliban to face her cousin. The translucent body of the obsidian servant wiggled its way towards Richard.

"Shaa! Shaa!" It showed off its best side, opening up a crack in is carapace to make the gurgling hissing noise which issued from its lamprey's mouth.

To Gwen's surprise, Richard placed a hand upon Caliban without a second thought.

"You're beautiful," he said, his voice suddenly cracking with emotion. "I feel... amazed."

Richard picked up Caliban in the manner of a sausage dog. Gwen could hardly comprehend what she was seeing. No one had ever picked up Caliban. SHE hadn't picked up Caliban herself.

Caliban seemed to enjoy Richard's touch. It writhed in her cousin's hands, coiling around his arm.

"Shaa! Shaa!" It joyous cooed.

Caliban, being coy?! Gwen felt that everything she had known about her Familiar had turned upside down. Caliban was trying to rub up against Richard like a cat! It was covering his hands with that viscus goo which leaked from its mouth. Oh, Gods! Gwen realised with a shudder. It's licking his hand! A Lovecraftian kitten? Was that even possible?

"Let me show you something as well, as a sign of our trust," Richard said, putting down Caliban to slither back towards Gwen. "Lea, come out and meet my cousin."

At his command, a sudden outpouring of Elemental Water that filled the room, upping the humidity ten-fold.

A female figure rose from behind Richard. Gwen saw a transparent face that was beautifully sculpted, with deeply set eyes and a high ridge-line nose. The hair, assuming she had hair, was a cascade of tiny waterfalls that fell from her scalp in eddies and swirls. Her upper body was lithe and likewise crystal clear, with well-formed breasts underneath a silk dress of aquamarine. With unblinking eyes without eyelids, the "girl" gazed at Gwen through two ultramarine opals.

"You… you have a Spirit?" Gwen's eyes concurrently glowed with excitement. She had only ever seen Henry's familiar, Sufina. Richard was the only other example of a humanoid Spirit she had seen to date.

"Picked up her on my Field Trip. Lea is an Undine. A high-tier Spirit."

It was now Gwen's turn to suck in her breath. An Undine! A water Spirit, a river ghost, a legendary creature that seduced and drowned unwary travellers. They were said to be intelligent to the point of being human. Like Sufina, Lea could take independent action, think for itself, and perform complex tasks.

"How can there be an Undine in Australia?!" Gwen asked naively.

"Prince's takes yearly Field Trips around the world," Richard explained patiently. "I found Lea in Scotland during our highland survivalist training."

The Undine then seemed to notice something about Gwen. It drifted across the bed. She touched's Gwen's cheeks. Her hands were cold but felt refreshing upon her skin.

"I like her, Richard!" Lea suddenly spoke, her annunciation achieved by the vibration of liquid particles. "She's got a wonderful aura!"

IT TALKS? Gwen swallowed. Not even Alesia's Caracal could talk.

Lea left Richard entirely and splashed into Gwen, drenching her upper body as it swirled and flowed excitedly, pasting Gwen's hair to her face in paintbrush streaks.

"What is this scent?" Lea kept asking. "It's so nice. I feel like I am somewhere else, somewhere older."

Richard had no idea what was happening either. He looked at Gwen expectantly. Gwen however, had noted more pressing matters. She wasn't wearing a bra, and now she was offering Richard a free show.

"Lea!" Richard commanded awkwardly. "Don't be so rude to our guest, pick up after yourself."

The water on her clothes and the mattress collated at once into a ball.

Lea winked, then returned to her pocket dimension. Unfortunately, clammy clothes didn't help either. Gwen made it known that she desired to change into a fresh set of sleeping clothes.

"Sorry." Richard's face was as stoic as ever. "And that's all. Good night!"

"Good night." Gwen tugged on Richard's sleeves. "And Richard?"

"Yes, Gwen?"

"Thanks for looking out for me."

The grin Richard returned was full of teeth. "No, Miss Song. I hope you'll be the one looking after me."