Chapter 033

Secrets creep through muscle and bone, until every twitch is a hidden truth.

Without another word, the Watery apparition popped. It fell to the ground but evaporated before it could touch the dirt, and from its matrix came lines of silver and golden light. They zipped back, faster than thought, glowing against Adhira’s and Harker’s arms at the same time the fireplace regained its ruddy hue.

Harker stared at where Magister Sivak once stood. The Ordeals…

Sovereign Sight still flowed through him, pulsing continuously since Sivak had appeared. Now Harker pulled it back, turning his attention inward and onto his left forearm. The lines glimmered and parted.

Ordeals In Progress…

The Ordeal Of Maelstrom’s Passage – The Trial Of Power – 0%

The Ordeal Of Blackwake’s Descent – The Trial Of Truth – 0%

The Ordeal Of Breaking Reef – The Trial Of Change – 8%

The Ordeal Of Tidal Climb – The Trial Of Resilience – 8%

The Ordeal of Deep Lantern – The Trial Of Harmony – 0%

The Ordeal of Drowning Sky – The Trial Of Vigilance – 8%

The Ordeal of Mist and Foam – The Trial Of Stillness – 8%

The Ordeal of Siren’s Undertow – The Trial Of Judgment – 2%

The Ordeal of Abyssal Plunge – The Trial Of Ambition – 2%

Harker sucked at his teeth. Somehow his Chartermark had updated. Both the type of trial and the percentage of completion are now showing. Was this information always here…just inaccessible until I learned it?

Harker had little choice but to assume it was true for the moment. His Talent…well, it was just as strange as the Bargain he wore across his wrist. His progress bar was an advantage in the race toward the Travelspire, but it wasn’t everything.

Failure was always an option.

Story of my life. Harker flexed his left hand, shifting the golden mark and the Illwrought scars that intermingled with it. The stakes were just higher now. If he didn’t reach the Travelspire before the countdown ran out, then it would be something far worse than he could imagine. A Bargain of this size…if it breaks, what would it do to me?

He looked around, but Stillwater was still hiding. Not that he’d be able to speak to the Eidhrin with Adhira so close. Besides, we have a lot to talk about, her and I.

Adhira sat on the other side of the fire, as lost in her thoughts as he had been. She didn’t seem particularly surprised by the apparition or anything he’d said. Her lips were pressed thin and her jaw set tightly.

“So,” he said into the quiet. “Who was that?”

“You heard him as well as I did.”

“Magister Sivak, yes. That isn’t what I asked.” Harker leaned forward. “You know him.”

Her shoulders twitched and she pulled her hair forward and began raking an idle hand through her curly locks. “I know of him.”

Harker waited. The fire crackled as it consumed its thinner kindling, and the pan atop its flames bubbled. Adhira reached out, snagging it off the makeshift platform and setting the food to cool on a rock. The silence stretched, growing thinner by the second, until she shoved her hair back.

“He was—He is one of the more difficult magisters in the Nine Spires. And an exceptional Fifth Depth Talent.” The words came out in a bit of a rush, like a pent up breath.

“Oh.” The two Second Depths in the Grim Company had been able to put down Illwrought with a single strike, and that had driven him to run further than he’d ever gone before. Sivak’s arrogance suddenly made a great deal more sense. “You’re saying I was a few feet from a Fifth Depth Talent?”

“He wasn’t truly here. It’s a projection.”

Harker glanced at his arm. “You know how it works?”

“…No. The Hold only told us to expect a message shortly after Threllsnacht. Other messages will come later.”

“He’s going to do this again?” Harker didn’t like that. “Why?”

“You heard him. He’s the Spire representative for our region. Their responsibility is reaching out and updating the Chartermarks with any pertinent changes or details. Usually there are only two or three times he’ll reach out, but I’m unfamiliar with Phaar.”

“You said, ‘our region.’ You’re from the southern isles.”

“I am, but Threllsnacht is the official start of the yearly Ordeals. Something to do with all the Charterstones being activated.” Adhira pushed her axe to the side, resting it against a tree. “Whatever the case, once enough marks are handed out, it begins. Anyone in the region at that time is resassigned.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Harker lifted his left hand. “So these do track us.”

“Not like that. They don’t take in specifics. It’s more—” She struggled for words for a moment. “Do you feel that tingle when you get close to a Charterstone? That’s the mark and stone communicating.”

“Is that where it updates our rankings too?”

“That is what I’ve been told. So entering towns or cities along the journey is a must for seeing your ongoing position.”

Which helps the Spires keep their tabs on you. Harker kept his face smooth, but a scowl was assembling beneath. I don’t like that at all.

He’d have to look into it. For now, however, there was little they could do except bear the weight of the Chartermark.

“Sivak. Seems like a piece of work.”

Adhira snorted, then looked surprised at the sound she made. “That…is an understatement. He is also the perfect person to oversee an Ordeal Tribunal. The judges are brilliant of mind, able to gauge Talents with unflinching accuracy. Magister Sivak is not a judge, but a facilitator. His power is all he needs to represent the Nine Spires.”

“What sort of tests needs a Fifth Depth Talent on retainer?”

“The most important kind.”