Chapter 19 - Assessment

The rest of the day went by quickly as Sylvie prepared for the assessment for her core awakening.

After a lengthy discussion of her situation, they devised a plausible background for her awakening.

It was common for one to awaken during severe stress, which Sylvie experienced in magnitudes with the altercation with the Tribal Wood Elves.

The prospect of having a mage in the family was huge. Mages were uncommon, even among Wood Elves, as around one in fifty awaken a core. Moreover, most of those fifty would awaken a small, weak core with a limited capacity that would hinder their potential as Mages.

Sylvie's core, though, was not weak, and her Father warned everyone, Lanren especially, to be careful who they spoke to about the specifics of her awakening.

Sylvie was surprised how seriously Lanren had taken the information; however, when he saw the state of Ballen's injuries, it dawned on him the seriousness of everything, and it seemed deep down Lanren did not want anything bad to happen to his family.

An assessment hall was available in every district in Falamel. It was simple to do, and House Meliamne were always eager to find more prospective Mages, especially since the High Elves had become more involved with the City and actively encouraged it.

Being Treefolk, Wood Elves are most proficient at Nature Magics. However, in the past few millennia, High Elves have strongly aided them in their lack of teaching materials for other magic affinities.

Her Father wanted her to get an assessment done in Neolune since each assessment hall has readers capable of reading an individual's soul, allowing them to view their traits, physical fitness, martial aptitudes, talents, affinities, abilities and core size. The stronger the reader, the more accurate and the more they can unearth.

The reader in Neolune was one her Father was familiar with and trusted. Since she was primarily required only to discover her magical aptitudes, it would be great to complete it as swiftly as possible while they still had the initiative.

Ballen was injured, so her Father was the only one who could accompany her to the assessment hall since her Mother and Lanren had duties as crafters.

Sylvie, alongside her Father, travelled to the assessment hall the first thing in the morning.

The assessment hall was an impressive building, though not as large and spectacular as the Alchemy Guild; in terms of craftsmanship, it was a step above most of the buildings in Neolune.

Her Father informed her she would first be inspected by a device that calculates if you have a core. If she passes the first test, they would then request the services of a reader, who they would not waste the time of if she were without a core, since a reading could be taxing on the reader themselves and having them conduct a reading to every individual claiming they had awakened a core would be impractical.

Entering the building, Sylvie found an ornate interior with expressive designs of Wood Elves performing magic. The room had comfortable seating, where some awaited their readings.

In the room's central area were separate receptionist desks, where a few Elves stood lined up awaiting their turn.

An assessment hall is not only utilised for awakenings, but you can request and pay for readings as well, though there is a limited number of slots per day, so as not to overburden the reader.

Her Father seemed to know his way around the building and swiftly brought her to a small queue where they waited for a short period before they stood in front of a casual-looking Wood Elf who said, “Here for a core assessment or reading? An immediate full reading without a booking is free only for those who have experienced a core awakening.”

Sylvie observed her Father replying quickly as he said, “My daughter has awakened recently. She is prepared to undergo the basic testing.”

The casual-looking Wood Elf raised his eyebrow at that as he began to take in Sylvie's appearance before saying, “Rather young for an awakening. Most awaken a few years older on average, though not unheard of, she may have excellent potential or worse, hard to know when it comes to these things. Follow me; I will take you to the basic testing hall. If she does have a core, this should be quick.”

Sylvie and her father followed the casual-looking Wood Elf as he stepped outside the receptionist's desk before walking towards the room's far end towards a door leading to a corridor.

They entered the corridor and walked further before reaching a small rectangular room of smooth, giant stone blocks.

In the centre of the room was a mysterious, shiny metallic device with glowing inscriptions.

Sylvie stared at it, looking towards the casual-looking Wood Elf expectantly, wondering what she had to do next.

The casual-looking Wood Elf seemed to smile as he came to the realisation, replying, “Place your hand on the orb in the centre of the device. You will feel it reach towards the essence in your core. Don’t resist that pull; it only wants a minuscule amount, even the smallest cores can handle. The device will only respond if you have a core, and is foolproof from other energy systems, so do not be disillusioned enough to think you can trick it; many have tried.”

The casual Wood Elf threw a brief, impatient glance at them as he said that; he seemed to be used to that sort of thing, though Sylvie felt offended that he was accusing her and her father of lying.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Sylvie knew that one thing Wood Elves widely looked down upon was dishonesty and exaggerating one's abilities. It felt similar to when Haryk was accused of overemphasising her alchemy abilities.

Her Father seemed mildly offended for a brief moment, yet calmly looked towards her.

Turning her head towards her Father, who nodded at her to go ahead, she took a deep breath and walked towards the glowing orb in the centre of the metallic device with her hand outstretched, clasping her hand around it.

Sylvie instantly felt that pull, as the casual Wood Elf described. Following his advice, she allowed a trickle of essence to flow from her core towards the device. Shortly after, the device lit with a bright golden light.

The casual Wood Elf barely blinked as he said, “It seems you weren’t wasting my time, though the readers are busy today, it may take a while…”

He was about to continue when a smooth feminine voice said, “It is fine. There is no need to be concerned about finding a reader. I will personally conduct the reading today.”

The voice owner was revealed as a beautiful, mature Wood Elf with long braided copper-red hair and stunning hazel eyes. Her appearance made the casual Wood Elf suddenly take a deferential stance as he bowed his head.

“Madam Silvana, it may be presumptuous of me, yet these are mere lower district Elves; most in the lower districts have poor potential, a waste of time for one such as yourself. I will get another…” The casual Wood Elf was about to continue, yet was sharply interrupted by Silvana.

“You have been spending far too much time with the High Elves' attendant. Excuse yourself and reflect. There was a time when Forest Folk shared what we had equally; it was our way. This highborn nonsense has only arisen with the presence of Imperium High Elves.” Silvana shook her head in distaste, and the casual Wood Elf hurried away awkwardly.

Yorik smiled as he saw her and said, “Silvana, greetings, Wise One. I hoped you would be the one to be my daughter's reader, you see, she is a complex case.”

“No need for the honorifics, Yorik, I’m far too old for that. Now I’m finally meeting Sylvie here, and she looks so much like you and Mryna. You know, seeing your daughter now reminds me how regretful it was that Mryna never became my mentee, she had the gift, even the latest magic tech from the High Elves cannot replace the role of us readers, Mryna had the gift to become among the best of us.” Silvana shook her head at the thought, seeming to reminisce.

Her father replied carefully as he said, “You know she never had the dedication for it. She was always a pure crafter of heart, and did not want to fail to live up to your expectations.”

Silvana's lips curved into a smile as she lightly laughed, saying, “You know there is no need to watch your words with me, youngling. I can take it, I can accept when something is not meant to be; if I cannot do that after experiencing over millennia of life, I would set a poor example.”

‘Over a millennium?’ Sylvie thought, opening her mouth in shock. That seemingly middle-aged woman was over a thousand years old!

Her father seemed to relax at the comment and ease up when he said, “Nobody has called me a youngling in a while, though I was serious about Sylvie possessing some rather special talents that would need to be kept private from the High Elves, Faelar in particular.”

“The Mage Hunter? Dangerous man. Your daughter has his attention? His reputation is that nothing is hidden from him. He can see, hear, and find anything. There are rumours he can even sniff out Magic. Though you should have no concerns about me keeping your daughter's confidentiality, the High Elves are no friends of mine. Now I could talk all day, but I have more readings to do later, so would Sylvie like to come into my private room for her reading?” Silvana said as she gestured to Sylvie to follow her.

Once again, Sylvie found herself being led to another room in the assessment hall, though this time by an ancient Elf Lady that made even her centuries-old Father feel like a child in comparison.

Silvana eventually stopped outside and turned towards Father. She said, “Yorik, readings are best done privately. Would it be fine for you to wait outside?”

Her Father nodded, giving her one last look of confirmation as Sylvie replied, “It will be fine, Father. Thank you for helping me today.”

“What a polite child! Now, follow me, Sylvie.” Silvana said with delight, a bounce in her step as she walked into her quarters, and Sylvie followed.

Her Father remained outside as asked, and Sylvie found themselves in a tasteful, simple room.

Silvana gestured for Sylvie to make herself comfortable and sit on a velvet red cushion.

“Now, Sylvie, do you understand what a reader is and what I will do?” Silvana asked.

“Partly. Father said you can read my soul.” Sylvie replied honestly.

Silvana chuckled at her response, “That is correct. My ability will feel like you are entering a dream-like state before I see everything. It will allow you to determine traits, which usually define themselves as a bloodline. The stronger a Wood Elf's bloodline, the more natural gifts they hold. This also shows itself further in skill affinities and talents. I am one of the stronger readers, and there is not much I cannot see, though I promise to keep all of this between us, and your Father, if he is included in your wishes, is that clear?” Silvana said.

Sylvie nodded, faintly nervous at the words ‘I can see everything.’ She had no idea what her soul would look like to someone like Silvana, an expert in this matter.

“Now, any questions before we begin?” Silvana asked.

“Is there any way to influence or change your soul? Adding more abilities to the one you have now.” Sylvie replied curiously.

“There is. Though changing the soul is complex, everyone has a saturated limit, and forcing too many changes can have unexpected consequences. However, there are unique paths like Druids, who can tether the souls of Magical and Fierce beasts to their soul space, granting them both their form and a portion of their abilities in their regular state. Fascinating, right?” Silvana said with a mysterious light in her eyes as she gazed at her.

“Very interesting..” Sylvie said with a cute laugh, hoping not to sound too obvious.

“Now are you ready?” Silvana asked, and Sylvie felt it was time to experience her first reading.

“Now relax. I can only do this if you let me in. Please close your eyes and concentrate on my voice. Listen…” Silvana continued as she instructed her.

At that time, Sylvie felt she was beginning to enter a trance-like state before an unpleasant sensation occurred.

It felt like someone was crawling through her very being, her soul and reading it.

“Good, Sylvie… relax, let ME IN,” Silvana said, her voice growing more commanding.

Unaware of Sylvie, Silvana's features began warping at that time as an intense look filled her face.

Her eyes grew gold, her features distorted, flickering from Wood Elf to the unmistakable features of a High Elf.

“Now what are you…” The Vaelorn High Elf said as a dark grin filled her features.