My boots click against the polished stone as I make my way deeper into the structure. The familiar scent of ozone and incense mingles with something else - anticipation, perhaps. Or fear.
The gathered xaphan track my movement with quick, darting glances before looking away. Their whispered conversations fade to silence as I pass.
They know something. The question is what - and how it relates to the gemstones I seek. I flex my fingers, feeling the curse's familiar burn beneath my skin. Time grows short, both for me and my bloodline. It's already starting to eat away at me, though I try to deny it.
A cluster of lower-ranked xaphan parts before me like startled birds, their dull-colored wings rustling. The sound reminds me of autumn leaves skittering across marble courtyards back home - before the curse began withering our gardens.
"...the gemstones' resonance with ancient magic..." The fragment of conversation catches my attention. I slow my pace, maintaining my cold facade while straining to hear more.
Two xaphan scholars huddle near a carved column, their heads bent over a weathered tome. The older one traces glowing sigils in the air as he speaks. "The artifacts' power is unprecedented. Even the Praexa are taking notice."
My fingers twitch at my sides. So others know of the gems' potential. My council was right that they would draw out humans and xaphan alike.
"Three candidates already died trying to claim them." A warrior-class xaphan joins their discussion, her steel-gray wings reflecting the magical torchlight. "The trials grow more lethal by the day."
The scholar closes his book with a sharp snap. "The stones respond to desperation. They feed on it. Each failed attempt only makes them more potent."
I drift closer to another group, this one gathered around a scrying pool. The enchanted water ripples with images of previous trials - broken bodies and shattered wings.
A Praexa's voice rises above the murmurs. "The artifacts choose their wielder. Many seek their power, but few understand the price."
The curse pulses beneath my skin like molten lead. I know the price of failure all too well.
"Did you hear?" A young noble whispers to her companion. "House Validus sent their heir. And the Blackthorn twins. Even the desert clans are sending champions."
Ice forms in my veins. The most powerful houses in New Solas, all converging on these trials. Each with their own desperate agenda, their own curse to break or power to claim. Though none of us care about the trials, we will all be here to manipulate them, to use the humans as best as we can.
The magical wards along the walls pulse stronger, as if responding to the mounting tension. Above, more Praexa gather in the viewing galleries, their golden wings catching the last rays of sunlight. Their presence turns this from a mere trial into something far more dangerous.
I've walked into a war, not a competition. And these gems I seek are the prize everyone is willing to kill for.
A shoulder slams into mine, hard enough to make me step back. The contact burns like acid through my ceremonial robes - a deliberate challenge.
"Watch yourself, cursed one." Theron sneers up at me, his pure white wings flaring wide. Crystal fragments dance between his fingers, sparking with barely contained power. "Your kind shouldn't be anywhere near these trials."
My magic surges in response, crackling along my skin like lightning. "Bold words from someone who can't even maintain basic spatial awareness."
"You dare?" His wings snap forward, buffeting me with a gust of wind that sends nearby scrolls scattering. "Your bloodline is tainted. The stones will never answer to corrupted blood."
The curse beneath my skin pulses harder, feeding off my rising anger. I channel it outward, letting frost crystallize along my fingertips. "Test that theory."
Theron strikes first, hurling shards of spelled crystal. I deflect them with a sweep of my wing, the fragments shattering against my feathers. Magic crackles through the air as onlookers scramble back.
"Your father was a fool to think he could contain their power." He weaves light into burning whips. "Your entire house deserves its fate."
The words hit harder than his magic. I lunge forward, frost spreading across the rocky floor with each step. My fist connects with his jaw as wind magic amplifies the blow. He staggers back, blood staining his perfect teeth.
Theron retaliates with a blast of pure light that sears my vision. I counter blind, letting instinct guide my defensive sweep. Ice meets light in an explosive clash that rocks the entire chamber.
"Enough!" A Praexa's command cuts through the chaos. Golden wings descend between us as guards rush forward.
I retreat before they can reach me, using the lingering chaos as cover. The confrontation has drawn too much attention - and cost me valuable time to investigate the gems. But Theron's words echo in my mind:Your father was a fool to think he could contain their power.
He knows about my father's connection to the cursed artifact, to the power that has started to undo us. We have tried to keep that information buried, and I grit my teeth knowing that bastard Theron knows a secret I'd rather not get out.
But that knowledge will have to wait. For now, I need to move quickly before the Praexa decide I'm too much of a liability to allow to be near the trials at all.
I turn to leave, frost still crackling at my fingertips, when a flash of deep auburn catches my eye. The crowd of xaphan parts, revealing a human woman moving through their midst with unexpected poise.