Twilight Mystic

Silaira watched from behind her parents, curious about the head Mystic but also uncertain of the large number of unknown Faelyn. She had only vague recollections of being told of her last visit, considering it was five years prior, when she was suffering Reincarnation Sickness. Having gotten word of the visit not so long ago, Mystic Alnus and the elders had come to the decision to offer the head Mystic a meal first. Their travel was not a short one and she was surely bored to death with long-winded celebrations.

They would give her a celebration, as they would never be accused of lacking hospitality. More than that, though, they would offer a place to stay for the night and the chance to move things along at her own pace. They knew from overheard complaints that the head Mystic was rarely offered such things, she also normally arrived at her last visit for the day a fair bit earlier. No doubt one of the nearby towns had kept her longer than was necessary and delayed their arrival in so doing.

She gratefully accepted, happy enough to be able to avoid a multi-hour party at least once. Bustle began immediately as people started setting up everything and began cooking the food that would be served. Silaira watched curiously from her parent's side, as both had already made their contributions to the grand feast.

The various children waiting to learn their affinities began to group together as the adults worked on the feast. Eventually, even Silaira was pulled into the small gathering, her silver tail waving back and forth as everyone started talking. Most of the talk at first was of the affinities their parents had and whether or not they expected to show up with them as well.

Eventually, though, talk turned to the things the young ones had overheard from the adults in the last few months as the Mystic had begun her rounds. Whenever they thought the children inattentive, the adults spoke worry about the coming testing.

"I overheard my parents the other day," one child spoke up, their tail waving anxiously as they spoke, "They were talking about the white-feathered hawk's guild and what happens when children have high affinity with light magic. Apparently the guild takes you and you never see your family again."

There was little talk about how they would be taken, though a few added theories and thoughts on the matter. Everything was suggested from being snatched away while doing chores to just disappearing from their bed in the middle of the night. So far as Silaira knew, though, such a thing had never happened to their little village. Then again, light magic affinity itself was rare to be above fifty percent and far rarer to be high enough to gain the attention of the white-feathered hawk's guild.

"I heard," another child whispered conspiratorially, "That they take away everything you own. They only feed you soup and bread and you're only allowed to drink water."

"They make you heal people all day long. You aren't allowed to talk to them either. You aren't allowed to have friends, family, anything at all," another added, horror making their tail fluff, "And if you refuse to do what they say, I heard they beat you and keep you from healing your own wounds."

Another child spoke their own concerns, "The raven's guild is far worse still. I heard my parents talking about them."

Everyone knew the tales of the raven's guild, assassins that destroyed the lives of people. The origin of the tale determined whether they were painted as heroes or villains. Tales passed down from nobles of the Elfin territory spoke of them as villains that roamed the night, just one step removed from monsters. Tales of the people under those nobles, though, spoke of them as harbingers of justice itself. Those tales spoke of crimes that had been ignored finally earning their just punishment.

"I heard that the ravens can take you even if your parents hold you tight. Nothing matters, they can just snatch you away, like a bird hunting a mouse."

"I heard that when you wake up after the ravens take you, they'll have also taken someone important to you," another added in a whisper.

"And then they make you kill them," a shudder ran through the first speaker as they took back over again, "So that the judges will execute you if you ever come back to the forest."

"They make you kill for them," it was the whispering child again, their tail fluffed entirely with fear, "They'll make you kill until your fur's painted red with blood, I heard my parents say."

"I heard," another child added conspiratorially, "That any Faelyn with red fur comes from older families, ones that managed to escape the ravens," they glanced warily around, their eyes moving to the head Mystic's tail, "Like Mystic Mystari, her family may have once killed for the ravens and escaped them somehow. The ravens don't let anyone escape anymore, they'll kill your entire home if you try. That's what my parents said."

The conversation turned away from the topic of the raven and hawk guilds after a while, once more moving excitedly towards the idea of learning what magics they could wield. They all looked forward to it, though those with parents who had light or dark affinities were a bit apprehensive.

Silaira, whose parents had both, worked hard to banish such fears. She knew she had strong magic, everyone in the village had commented on it at some point or another. She had no reason to think, though, that she had a particularly strong affinity with any singular element.

Many adults would look her over, commenting on parts of her personality that related to certain elements. Over time, each element had been mentioned. Silaira assumed, given what she'd been told, that she had a relatively high affinity with all elements, but nothing so stellar as to be someone as strong as Daucus would eventually be. He was undeniably connected strongly to the fire element, his personality showing it constantly.

He and the other child that was good at magic, Stella, would likely be the only two in their village to show an affinity above eighty percent. Silaira convinced herself of it to keep from worrying too much. After all, her parents had affinity with light and dark between them so she had both guilds to fear. Very few other children had either to possibly inherit from their parents, considering those with higher affinity to pass down ended up taken by the guilds.