BGM Set (Yes, more Rewrite. I fucking love Rewrite.)
[X] "I can prove my worth as a powerful mage."
Joseph looks unimpressed, raising an eyebrow and leaning forward. His presence looms over yours simply by sheer size and the positioning of the throne above the rest of the court. "Is that so? What makes you so confident?"
Your mind races to come up with an answer. "My line is descended directly from Brimir. I have studied many introductory tomes on willpower and magic. I have been told I'm intelligent and pick up things quickly. I am confident I can become a powerful mage in time." you say.
Joseph shakes his head, disappointed. "That wasn't the answer I was looking for." He gestures to the side where Sheffield watches silently. She looks from him to you, and shrugs. You eye her nervously as she approaches you. She pulls the same trick with the materializing sword as she strides over to you, gripping it and slashing downward as it forms. Caught in your kneeling position and unable to react, her cut opens a deep gash vertically down your chest.
"Ahhh-!!" you scream. You stare at the blood spurting out. Did she really just do that? The intense pain flooding your nerves is telling you yes, that just happened. You're going to die if you don't do anything. You force the pain away so you can concentrate on saving your own life. Hovering your hands over the injury, the wound reverses cleanly, and you collapse to the floor in exhaustion. You can hear Joseph's voice from somewhere above you as you're laid out, panting heavily.
"Good enough. I've decided: you shall remain here. I will arrange for a teacher to instruct you." he says. There is a pause as he collects his thoughts, the silence in the hall filled only with your own labored breaths.
"There is one last lingering judgement. Six months from now, you will undertake a mission from the crown to test your skills. Prepare well or die. With your own .. unique, abilities, it should be simple."
You gather yourself enough to stand again to look at him and Sheffield. He's still wearing the same unimpressed visage he's been wearing the entire time, whereas Sheffield simply looks thoughtful.
"You're dismissed." Joseph says with finality.
You curtsy out of formality more than any attempt at politeness, and leave the room at a steady pace. You don't want to appear weak. You collapse back into your bed to think on the direction your life is taking.
Your uncle doesn't like you. That's obvious. You weren't sure before, but the past few days have made that blindingly clear. As for why- you don't know. Maybe you remind him of his brother or something. It makes you wonder how much or how little he has to do with the troubles that have befallen you in your life. Then again, he might've been content to sit back and let others do the work for him. He probably has better things to do than make your life miserable.
Becoming a powerful mage.. it's something you'd always intended on doing anyway. Although, you could do without the judgement awaiting you at your twelfth birthday. It would be nice to know just what kind of mission he expects you to complete, so you can prepare. You won't bank on this teacher he's assigning being all that useful, but you could still be pleasantly surprised. Further along this path probably leads to further service to the crown. It'll look good on your record, you guess, and it's valuable combat experience. If only it wasn't so perilous. You don't want to die again just yet.
You meet the teacher Joseph arranged for you the very next day. You've no idea how he managed that so quickly. The crown does get what it wants, you suppose..
You think you vaguely recognize this person. You've seen him before somewhere, but it must have been a long time ago for the memory to have faded this much already. He's a pale man of average height, wearing a feathered wide-brim hat on top of long blonde locks. He smiles pleasantly at you.
"It is an honor to teach the future Queen, my lady." He says it with absolute certainty, kissing your hand politely and bowing in deference. You're a little embarrassed. The gesture seems so genuine, it's hard not to be. "My name is Belden."
You curtsy back politely, introducing yourself in turn. "My name is Charlotte, pleased to meet you."
You decide between you to hold your sessions in the library. Once you're both sitting down, he speaks up. "Why don't we start by assessing what you know already?" he asks.
You nod in agreement and start running through all the things you've read regarding Halkegenian magic. He doesn't try to teach anything or correct any information that might be incorrect, merely evaluating. After you finish, he nods once. "You retain information well. I think it will be an easy job for me to teach you. That's all I wanted to do today."
He extends a hand to help you to your feet and you both leave the library. While you turn to head back to your room, he moves in an opposite direction. He turns back and addresses you one last time. "If you want to show me your.. other skills, I would be most humbled, my lady." he says as a parting shot. It leaves you unsure of just what Joseph told him, and what he knows about you.
You've got time to kill. What aspect of your skills do you think needs improvement?
(Choose two. This will fast forward three months. The next update will have almost identical choices to this one, and will also cover three months.)
[ ] Expand the Wire Menagerie.
- [ ] How? (Write-in.)
[ ] Experiment with forging materials.
[ ] Research at the library.
- [ ] About? (Write-in.)
[ ] Search for the spark of willpower.
[ ] Practice your body arts.
[ ] Something else. (Write-in.)
What else do you want to do? (Social.)
[ ] Meet with your tutor for extra lessons, show him your prana manipulation.
[ ] Play with your cats, invite the maid.
[ ] Observe magical spars in the practice yard.
[ ] Track down Sheffield for a conversation.
- [ ] So, what's this mission going to be like?
- [ ] Something else. (Write-in.)
Bonus points for guessing who your tutor is.. I hope I don't get flayed for this.
