In the Shadow of Ribbons: Part 1-10: Erian: Assessment Day 2-Concerns & Trust
Scene 10 of 'In the Shadow of Ribbons', set Within Thalenra. The second Assessment session has commenced, and Marnie's 'random quirks' need to be discussed.
The previous scenes are all saved Within Thalenra. Or go direct to scene one here, or scene 9(b) here.
We join Erian, Marnie, & Gretham, during the second day of the assessment, just before the Spirit Wielder testing begins.
Erian tapped his finger on the memory crystal, as he activated it for the second time. There was no mistaking what it showed him. The threads that formed his ward had slid sideways, to let Marnie’s water threads through. Yesterday, when he though the threads in the cube had rearranged themselves, he could have put it down to the state he’d been in, that the circle maybe stuttered for that second. But today? How had she managed it? He watched the memory slowly again, and caught the shimmer of a thin strand of pure Thaum among the water threads. Maybe that was the cause, but…
A clatter of small stones, bouncing off the remaining barrier ward, pulled him out of the recorded memory. Marnie, was bouncing on the spot, the earth focus rod in her hand, while Gretham must have been checking the warding object that her earlier water attack had gone through.
“It’s stopping the earth now. Can we do the next thing?” Marnie was gesturing at the barrier, and Erian could see a thin, but very present, ribbon of flat-taupe boredom drifting among the others around her. Figuring out what was happening with the Thaum could wait until later.
“Yes, I will use the recording for analysing your elemental aptitudes later, but I think it’s safe to say there are no issues with your control.” He glanced at Gretham, still examining the warding object. “Do you need to take that back to your workshop?”
He shook his head, putting it down. “It’s working fine, from what I see.”
“Very well. Alright Marnie, we’ll start with your illusions. Create a few different ones, similar to that candle you had when we met.”
Marnie cocked her head, staring at the circle. A candle appeared first, identical to the one from the cell, and complete with a thin trail of smoke coming from the flickering flame on the wick. To Erian, who could pick up more than most with his Thaumic Sense, that candle faintly shimmered with a prismatic hue - a clear indicator for him of spiritual energy condensed and contained within pure Thaum, to create Spirit Matter. As an Empath, it was a detail only he could catch, and so he made sure the Ritual circle had recorded the result that was expected: none of the threads required for illusions of elemental light, were present in the ritual space.
Normally, with no official Spirit Wielder present to enter the Boundary and confirm the illusion’s source, that would be as far as a standard test would go, recording as it did, only Thaumic energy. But Erian had developed a technique that allowed him to include the Spiritual energy of his Empathic senses, within the memory recorded as well. He had yet to identify a way to allow others to see it, but it had often proved useful for his own research.
As Marnie began adding additional items to the circle - a table for the candle to sit on, a bowl of soup complete with steam and the smell of vegetables, a plate holding several soft bread rolls - Erian placed his hand over a rune of his own devising, one that he had imbued with a trace amount of his own Spiritual energy. As he activated the rune, and strands entwined into threads that flowed into the gentle flow of the others, he placed his other hand on a memory crystal, the same pale-azure of his own Thaumic aura. His vision shifted to above the circle space then, as his senses blended with the threads of the circle, and he could see the prismatic shimmer of each item; each rendered in as much detail as their Real counterparts.
Breathing slowly, so as to not disturb his focus, he spoke quietly. “Thank you Marnie, that should be enough of those for the record. Please stand in the circle, and hide yourself as you did yesterday.”
He watched as Marnie entered the circle, her gaze unexpectedly looking up at him. “Can I learn that? Is it difficult?”
Erian answered, his breathing growing a little deeper. “Possibly. And yes, so please make this quick if you could.” Marnie nodded, and promptly disappeared, along with everything else in the circle.
“She’s got a real knack for that.” Erian heard Gretham say, out of sight. “My Reading ain’t that shabby, and I still can’t tell she’s there, even with the warning that I didn’t have yesterday. She’s on par with Anybia I’d say.”
Erian concentrated, pushing Gretham’s voice away. It was the same as yesterday. He could see the ribbons of Marnie’s aura floating around her - faded a great deal, but with the ever-present chimes still audible enough for him to know where she was. But to his Thaumic sense, both she and the illusions were gone.
This is going to be an issue, he inwardly sighed. He’d hoped he could pass off her unique abilities as just random quirks. Yesterday he had been too intrigued - and perhaps a little sleep-deprived - to remember to treat this as a Transition assessment, and not standard Academy testing. If he submitted a report with this many ‘random quirks’, along with Spirit Wielder capability of mid-Practitioner level, Meliath would have no choice but to have her transferred to the Transition Centre, for a full ethics assessment. If he was going to prevent that, then he was going to have to place the same level of trust in her, that she had given him, which was going to be…, complicated.
He watched for a moment more, to allow the memory crystal to record what it could detect, then quickly let go of the threads.
Erian sat with his eyes closed for a moment, allowing his senses to reset themselves - too many shifts in perception had been known to have long-term consequences even for the best of Mages.
Erian replied to Gretham’s earlier comment. “Marnie is possibly better, considering Anybia’s talent comes from experience.” He opened his eyes slowly, “And unfortunately, that may be a problem.” He turned to Marnie, still hidden under her veil. “You can come out now.”
She appeared with no indication that she had been gone, eating one of the bread rolls. “How are you holding…” Erian started to say, when the illusions disappeared as Marnie left the circle. He rubbed his eyes, and blinked a couple of times. “Were you eating the illusion just then?”
She shrugged. “I like bread.”
“But why pretend-”
Did you say it’s Mindscapes next?” Interrupted Marnie. “How are we doing that? Are you going to record it with that senses thing you did with the circle?”
Distracted by her questions, Erian lost his train of thought. “No. No, we can’t record a Mindscape that way. And I wouldn’t if we could. Mindscape privacy is paramount for a Mage’s mental safety.”
He got up from where he was sitting, and went over to the seat by a table, where a small pile of papers were - Marnie’s answers to the tests. He sat there, flicking through them, perhaps her answers might be enough to avoid this. He began speaking, as he searched.
“Before we move on, I need to be clear that you have options on how we proceed, but… both of them have drawbacks.” He located the paper he was looking for, and gave it a quick read through. He gave a bemused smile, on reading that ‘trying to break into someone’s mind was just plain rude’. And then sighed, flicking through the rest. Her answers were better than he thought they would be, but anyone reading them without meeting Marnie, was going to have more questions by the end, that could easily turn to suspicions. He couldn’t avoid this.
He put the papers aside, and looked back towards Marnie, who’s aura was now filled with wariness. “Marnie, to put it plainly, you are too good at what you do. For most of it I can put it down to training differences - A lot of them, admittedly, but within acceptable limits. However, your Spirit Wielder capability is that of an experienced Practitioner.”
Gretham gave a low whistle, while Marnie grinned. “So I passed! Does that mean I can go to the Academy?”
“In terms of skill, yes. But…” Erian shifted uncomfortably, this was the worst part of these assessments. “As you were an Order prisoner, it has to be confirmed you fully understand the ethical implications of what you can do. If you were a mid-level adept, then that would be covered by the simple test I’d planned for today. It covers that you can enter a Mindscape, prevent someone forcibly entering, invite someone in, and control what they can do while inside. As a full Spirit Wielder, that isn’t enough.
“If I proceed as a planned, then once I submit your assessment, Meliath will have to transfer you to the Transition centre for the next part. Once there, the assessment requires you to give full trust in who they set to assess you. If you can’t, then the alternative is an experienced Spirit Wielder accesses your memories, and the assessment is based on what they find.”
Marnie grimaced. “Belaine would do that. I don’t know that I can let anyone in that deeply.”
“There are few just out of Order hands that can.” He paused, and then quietly added. “Truthfully, Marnie, of the few I’ve seen undergo the full ethical assessment, only one returned to society afterwards.” He avoided thinking about how lifeless their aura had been afterwards, as he studied Marnie’s reaction.
“Wouldn’t you be able to do the full assessment there? I trust you.”
He felt a warmth when she said that, until he remembered last night’s aura sharing; he needed to know why she did, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
“It would… go badly.” He replied, grimacing as he thought of the last time he’d done that test. The only time. “I have some difficulty with the Boundary, and - despite repeated evidence to the contrary - those who witness the assessment will see it as an indicator of… distrust.”
A smoky-sage ribbon of unease drifted from Marnie. “I don’t understand. Why would it look like you don’t trust me?”
Erian could see her ribbons beginning to spiral faster. “There is an alternative,” he said quickly. “I do the assessment with you here, where they can’t interfere.”
“So you do trust me?” asked Marnie.
“Yes, I do. But, what you’ll need to do if you choose me for this, goes beyond what would normally be asked.”
A flicker of understanding crossed Gretham’s face, and he sighed, almost a groan. “You mean after I do the forced attempt, you’d be…?” He rubbed his forehead, and closed his eyes. “Sunder it,” he grumbled. “Fine.”
“Thank you, Gretham,” Erian said with an apologetic smile, as he continued laying out the next steps. “Once you prevent Gretham’s entry, Marnie, I will initiate a Thaumic link, requesting you invite me in. You…” he hesitated. “You’ll need to pull me through.”
Marnie’s eyes widened. “But that’s… I can’t do that to you!”
Erian grimaced. “I don’t always manage to…” he faltered, struggling, as always, to explain.
“What Erian is trying to say,” said Gretham. Erian looking away, tried to ignore the soft chimes of pity that were echoing from him. “Is that we could be here a while if he tries to enter by himself, possibly the rest of today. So as much as it goes against the grain, if you want Erian in there with you, then you’ll need to bring him in yourself.”
Marnie shook her head, and whispered. “But it hurts being pulled like that. Why would you… Maybe I should go to…” She paused. “But they’d go so deep….” There were soft olive-green ribbons appearing now, several of them, tinged with dusky-white, swirling grey, and a flickering black - Her concern for Erian, mixed with confusion and conflict over the request.
Erian spoke up, trying to give off a confidence he wasn’t entirely feeling. “It will be fine, Marnie. I won’t be resisting, and once I’m inside, I take back control. Think of it as just giving me a hand.” The ribbons calmed a little as he continued. “If I help you with your memories later, we will need to do something similar, so we are just confirming for now that it will be possible.
“Once I’m in, we’ll do a quick check that you can prevent me from changing anything without consent.” He stopped for a moment, as Marnie nodded her reluctant agreement slowly. “What follows is the ethical assessment. Did… Have you ever located someone else’s mind within the Boundary?”
She thought for a moment. “No, but I know how to find them.”
“Good.” Erian shifted in his seat, not looking at her or Gretham. “Once we are finished in your mind, I have to confirm you can distinguish between a consenting and un-consenting mind. You’ll escort me to my Mindscape, and once I’m inside, wait for the indication that I am letting you in.”
“Alright.” She spoke slowly, and Erian could hear the chimes of concern still ringing as he averted his eyes from her aura. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“You’ll be carrying him is what,” said Gretham with a flat tone. “Anybia tried it once. Said it’s like dragging a sack of bricks around.”
“I’m not that… Well yes, I do tend to get overwhelmed.” He looked at Marnie. “It’s nothing to be concerned about, just a little disorientation, because of how concentrated the Spiritual Energy is. It can look to an observer like I’m trying to get away from the escort. I’ll be fine once you push me into my Mindscape.”
“I don’t like this,” muttered Gretham. “Maybe we should ask Anybia to do the test instead.”
“She isn’t licensed for it. It has to be a member of the Transition centre team, or a Magister-ranked Spirit Wielder,” said Erian, rubbing his neck. “If we do this now, then Marnie doesn’t have to worry about anyone insisting on further tests; and Meliath will be able to fully confirm that she both understands - and will follow - all ethical guidelines.”
“Alright. But I’m putting a time limit on it. You get one hour, and then I’m pulling you out.”
“Two hours,” said Erian. “Marnie hasn’t escorted someone before, and I might… I’ll need some time to prepare before I can let her in my mindscape.”
Gretham huffed, but gave a slight nod. “…fine. But, you better respond if I set a Thaumic-link.”
Erian agreed. “Of course, right away. Do you need time to prepare before we start?”
Gretham’s eyes glazed for a moment. “I should be alright. How about you two?”
Marnie shrugged. “I’m ready.”
Erian closed his eyes, and assessed his own state of mind. Calmly focusing on his breathing for a moment. He believed his thoughts would settle quickly enough; Gretham was keeping watch and he trusted Marnie, especially considering how easily he had entered her Trancing. Thinking back on that, he winced at how reckless he’d been. That alone should have warned him he wasn’t himself that night.
Putting that aside though… He had no concerns about Marnie guiding him, nor that he could get out of her mind if he needed to. Where there were flickers of doubt was around her trust of him. He needed to get rid of those, or risk not getting in at all.
“Gretham, would you mind giving us a bit of time alone. I have to ask Marnie something.”
Gretham nodded and turned to leave. “I’ll go and get some food.”
“Could you bring some bread back?”
With a snort, Gretham said yes and headed out the door, leaving Erian and Marnie alone.
Erian waited a moment, and then caught Marnie’s eyes, his hands resting on his knees, gripping them slightly. “Marnie, I have to know. Why do you trust me so much?”
Marnie cocked her head, her aura showing ribbons of curiosity and surprise at the question. “Is there some reason I shouldn’t?”
“No, but…” Erian couldn’t continue, not wanting to say out loud just how many would say ‘yes’ if she asked them about him.
Marnie, realising he wasn’t going to continue, answered. “I’ve known you less than two days. So far you got me out of a hole, gave me stuff, let me do magic - risking yourself, from the way Gretham acted yesterday - and stopped me getting swallowed by memories twice. And now, you’re willing to do something that’s going to hurt you, just to make sure I can choose how I live.”
She thought a second, and then continued. “I suppose you might be tricking me, but I don’t believe you’ve lied to me so far, and you protected me from the ones with foci yesterday when you could have let them arrest me. I can’t see any reason why I wouldn’t trust you.”
Erian could see no shifting in her aura, its ribbons remaining calm as she spoke, even as they swirled gently, with pale-gold curiosity, and the wild-lilac of a quiet joy at just being free to choose where she was. There were several others, drifting between shades of yellow and green. And underlying all of it, holding a mage’s natural grey suppression cloak away, was a wide ribbon of vanilla-cream trust directed at him.
“It’s more than that. It has to be,” he said quietly. “It was there when we left that cell. And… there’s the unavoidable fact that I’m an Empath. Before you, no one has had anything but wariness once they heard that.”
She snorted, and shrugged. “I admit, I’d not twigged that was what you were telling me yesterday, but I’ve remembered some since, from the history Belaine had me memorise; although I don’t think I can trust much of that. He said Empaths wiped out villages with released spirits, and blamed it on his people until they were caught and kicked out. He said they use emotion to manipulate people.”
Erian looked away. “That’s what most people think, even after all this time.”
“Right,” said Marnie. “But you weren’t alive when they did those things, and I’ve no reason to think you’d start now. If anyone was going to do that sort of stuff, it would be Belaine, and he doesn’t get called Empath.
“There is something else, but that’s… for when I know you better. For now, all that matters is I’m going to keep trusting you until I’ve a reason not to.
Erian looked back at her, then, and could see her sincerity. And then something more was added to it; It wasn’t the pale pearl of the familial bond of his brother, but did have the thin sparkle of a shared connection that made it shimmer. The last time he had seen it was with Gerard. Where there had been an emerald tint to it then, this time there was amethyst; the same shade as Marnie’s Thaumic aura.
His eyes widened. He’d been sure that bond was impossible with anyone else. He still didn’t understand why, but he now had no doubts that Marnie meant every word.
“What about you?” Marnie said, breaking through his thoughts. “Why do you trust me?”
He cleared his mind, as he thought for a moment. Why did he? “I think, because I know some of what you’ve been through, shared in those memories. Another part is, - and while I don’t like it, what I see through my Sense is rarely wrong - you have never hidden your emotions from me; it’s hard not to trust you, when you choose to be open to me.
“But mostly, it is the same as you. You have given me no reason not to.”
“Good.” She smiled, and then got up. “I’m gonna make sure Gretham got the bread.” She stepped quickly away, and was gone, leaving a bemused Erian to wonder at her curious love of bread rolls.
Thanks for Reading! I meant this to cover the Mindscape stuff as well, but it ballooned while I was planning this. I think having the necessary explanations and the Mindscapes themselves would have take away from it, so a split seems best. It will also be a delayed release, for the next part, as I’m away most of next week, and Mindscapes are complicated, considering how I’ve decided to do them.
This is the first scene I’ve written that’s made me certain I’ll have some rewriting to do. Scenes 1 & 2 were both done a year ago, when all Mindscapes were was a vague concept, and Erian was barely a character. Reading back, he should definitely been panicking enough for Marnie to notice he was there. Take what’s said this scene about Trancing as a placeholder, until I work out how scenes 1/2 actually went.