An instinctive lie. It had manifested much earlier than that. I offered a silent prayer to the Source, willing that the Speaker wouldn’t be able to detect the untruth.
“And how old are you now?”
“Twenty-two.”
The Archivist exchanged a glance with the Speaker, as they too noticed the coincidental timing of my birth and the last known arrival of a Light Conduit. I tucked that observation in the back of my mind for future research. Perhaps it wasn’t quite a coincidence, if the gods themselves took note of such things.
Seemingly out of nowhere, that strange sense of lightheadedness returned in waves, and I had to blink a few times to steady myself, shifting weight from one foot to the other.
“And you have been able to access Light ever since the first manifestation?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
A light, sparkling laugh fell from her lips.
“Oh, you are far more polite than some of your peers have been today. It is comforting to know that at least some of ourchildren retain their manners. You may call me by name if you wish, young wise one. I am known as Elura; the Speaker and the Eleventh Elder of the Convocation.”
I dipped my head in a slight bow.
“It is an honor,” I breathed.
When I raised my head again, my eyes wandered over the other eighteen members of the Convocation, all of whom continued to sit in silence and perfect stillness as Elura spoke. Every last one of them gazed back, studying me intently with ancient, seemingly all-knowing eyes.
Those haunting eyes were all aglow in various colors—some of which we humans did not seem to inherit. Lilac. Crimson. Copper. Though I envied the beauty of their brilliance, it was the depth of the eons carved within that was truly breathtaking. Somehow, you could see how thousands of years had passed before those eyes, though most of the Aetherborne did not appear to be any older than thirty.
The long pointed ears and the sharp fangs were the most obvious features that they did not share with their mortal descendants, but it was the eyes that made the truth of their immortality apparent.
I lowered my lashes again, tucking my chin towards my chest in a show of respect. I had regained my bearings, no longer feeling dizzy, though I did notice a slight throb in the back of my head beginning to form. What the Hel was in that elixir, anyway? And what had been the damn point of it, other than making me feel slightly sick?
“We will be concluding here shortly, Arken, but first we would like to measure the strength of your Resonance in its current state. Are you sure you don’t wish to be seated?”
Concluding? Hadn’t we just started?
“I’m fine standing, thank you. What would you have me do?”
“In just a moment, we will remove all Light from these chambers. You may find it more difficult to summon your Resonance when this happens, but what we would like you to do is try and illuminate the room to the best of your ability. Do not hold back. We want to witness your full strength, without hesitation. Understood?”
That was all? This was the trial that I had been so worked up over for the last six weeks of travel? I just had to use my Resonance with some extra effort?
“Understood,” I answered, despite my disbelief.
Surely, this was too simple. I hadn’t known what to anticipate here, but I had expected something more challenging than just proving I could summon Light with a basic example.
“Are you ready?”
I nodded once, still confused. There was a knowing look in the Speaker’s eyes, as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. She almost looked...amused.
“Then you may proceed.”
And before I saw a single member of the Convocation even so much as blink, the room went black. Pitch black, ensconcing us all in total darkness.
This was a different kind of darkness—it wasn’t anything like the familiar shade of nightfall, though I could still sense the aether all around me. This was Shadow, but it was heavy. Oppressive, even. As if there were layers of it weighing down on me. Nineteen layers, perhaps? It certainly felt like it. There wasn’t even an ounce of Light aether that I could draw from…
Well, fuck.
Anxiety began to pulse as I attempted to draw on my Resonance and felt nothing at first. It was then that I realized that I was enshrouded in both total darkness and total silence. I couldn’t hear a single whisper of ambient noise—no rustle of clothes or breathing outside of my own. If I concentrated, Icould probably hear the sound of my own heartbeat as it steadily elevated.
Breathe in. Breathe out.