These are the memories of a Diviner; he’s using his attunement to look at the auras of the people in the room. Not a bad idea.
A quick glance around the chamber showed me some consistent colors. There were only three visible people remaining in the stands above the room: the older man; my mother; and a brown-haired woman who looked to be in her twenties. All three of them had auras in a similar color range.
Yellow with a hint of green... So, they’re either Citrine or Emerald. That’s pretty impressive, given that there are only supposed to be a handful of Emeralds on the continent. Is Mother really that powerful? I knew she was in the military for years, but...
I looked back down at the lower area, observing Keras and the guards. The guards had orange auras, meaning they were Sunstone-level. Comparable to most of the professors, then.
Keras didn’t have a colored aura at all. Instead, there was a rippling field that distorted the air around him, almost like he was underwater or within a wave of heat.
That’s disconcerting.
The masked swordsman stepped into the center of the chamber, glancing around, and then turning his head toward the older man who I’d spoken to before. “Do I have the honor of addressing Tenjin, the Visage of Insight?”
The older man laughed. “Aahh, no, I’m not quite that ancient, I’m afraid. I’m Councilor Gerald Lanoy, the Visage’s Adjutant. This is Councilor Lyran,” he gestured at my mother, “and Councilor Theas,” he waved at the other woman.
Keras scratches his chin. “Councilors? Meaning members of your Council of Lords?”
“Correct,” Councilor Lanoy confirmed. His tone was paternal. “I understand that you’re not a Valian native, so you might be unfamiliar with our governing process—”
The masked man waved to stop him. “I understand the basics. I must admit to being a bit disappointed, however. I mean no disrespect, but I was informed that I would be meeting with the visage. Why the change?”
“Regrettably, such a meeting will not be possible,” the councilor said. “I’m afraid that our... noble allies in Dalenos have declared you guilty of heresy and filed for your immediate extradition.”
Keras’ hands briefly balled into fists, then reopened. “This was a trap, then.”
Councilor Lanoy sighed. “Not a trap, Sir. I read your request for the meeting and approved it personally before the extradition request came to us. I admit to being intrigued by your claims, and were the situation different...”
Keras took a step forward. The guards tensed, moving hands toward weapon hilts, but Councilor Lanoy raised a hand to stop them.
Keras leaned back and folded his arms. “The situation can be different. Let me speak to the visage before you send me to Dalenos. I suspect he would be willing to dispel these claims of heresy personally if he heard my message.”
Councilor Theas raised a hand to her forehead, closed her eyes, and then turned her head toward Councilor Lanoy. “They’re waiting outside.”
Councilor Lanoy nodded in response, then turned back to Keras. “I regret to say this, Sir, but you are under arrest for the crime of heresy in the kingdom of Dalenos. I would like to ask you to cooperate. If you do so, we will provide you with one of our best legal advisors to attempt to convince them to lower your sentence.”
“In Dalenos? For heresy?” Keras barked a laugh. “What, would they lower the sentence to only taking off half my head?”
The old man winced. “I believe one of our attorneys would be able to persuade them to limit the punishment to something less than fatal.”
Keras rubbed his forehead. “I appreciate the thought, but I have no intention of being imprisoned for telling the truth. I’ll be leaving now.”
He turned back toward the door. The two guards stepped in his way, drawing steel.
Keras raised his hands to display empty palms. “Please don’t make this difficult. I’ll leave peacefully if you let me.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.” Councilor Theas stepped closer to the edge of the platform overlooking the lower area. “But don’t worry, you won’t have to fight anyone. You won’t get the chance.” She pointed a hand at him. “Elias, bind him in the chains of authority.”
Shimmering green chains sprung up from the floor, surrounding Keras and enveloping him in an instant. They wrapped around his limbs, seemingly of their own will, and pulled together tightly. Shackles manifested around his wrists.
Keras turned his head toward Councilor Theas. “That was a mistake.”
He moved his arms apart. The chain connecting the shackles snapped first. The other chains cracked apart as he moved, stepping closer to the door.
“Stop him!” Theas yelled.
The first guard moved quickly, swinging his sword in a downward arc. Keras caught the blade his right hand, completely arresting the weapon’s movement. With a twitch of his hand to the side, the sword blade snapped.
Keras discarded the broken half of the sword blade in his hand while side-stepping a sword swing from the second guard, then spun to deflect a blast of lightning from a third attacker — my mother.
She’d floated down from the top floor onto the floor of the council chamber below.
“A lightning sorcerer? That’s more interesting, at least.” Keras smirked.
Mother! Oh, no...
It occurred to me in the following moments that I didn’t know exactly when this gem memory was from... and that I hadn’t heard from my mother in months.
Mother didn’t look as scared as I felt, though. In fact, she was grinning too.
She snapped her fingers, a crackling aura of lightning manifesting all around her. “You’re quick,” she remarked. “But unarmed? I don’t think you’re much of a threat.”