Mesmer's Mask

Ascalon's Downfall

"Lady Althea is missing." The words buzzed through the small crowd gathered around a soldier named Viggo. Like us, this man was in service of Duke Barradin and it was this very duke who had led us this far into enemy territory, all the way to the ruins of Piken Square. Viggo was one of the duke's most loyal followers, and if the news came from a source like him, then there was little doubt that it was true.

I looked around me at the worried faces. Those around me were thinking the same thing, and soon enough those of us who were on guard would hear, and feel the same way too. The duke's advance was reckless, and most of us had felt it was pointless. Now that we knew that Lady Althea was missing, though, a lot of things were starting to make sense. Clearly he was trying to find his daughter, although the despair had obviously clouded his judgement.

"And what are you all standing around for?" It was a calm, clear voice that silenced us all. We didn't need to look around to identify the speaker. You never needed to with Lady Elvea Deimin. She was soft-spoken, but she had a way of being present that forced you to notice her, and her tone was always recognisable. You never ignored her- not if you valued your skin, anyway.

I had not seen her in at least two years, not since before the Searing. We had both studied at Ascalon Academy, although I doubted she would remember me. Lady Elvea was a close friend of Prince Rurik and Lady Althea, but unlike her friends, she did not mingle with the common people if she could at all avoid it. Even as a young woman she had a cold, hard look about her that told you it was best to keep your distance- the very same look that told you it was best not to ignore her when she chose to acknowledge your existence.

She was a Mesmer, and people of this profession were generally considered to be of little value in battle. It was ironic that a woman like her had such a powerful presence. There weren't many serious Mesmers among the fighting ranks. In fact, I could think of only two: the one demanding our attention, and the duke's missing daughter.

Mesmers are enigmatic at the best of times. As the followers of the goddess Lyssa, they are all about duality and trickery, about beauty and deception. It isn't hard to recognise a Mesmer. They all share a fondness of fine clothing, and they tend to wear intricately-made masks. All this somehow amounts to skills in battle, although I have to say I was sceptic about a Mesmer's ability to actually kill a Charr. Looking pretty is one thing, but it isn't likely to slay an enemy, least of all an enemy almost twice your size with enormous fangs and claws.

People who trained to be Mesmers could roughly be divided into two groups. There were those of the nobility, who trained as a Mesmer almost out of duty. There were also the thespians, who studied as Mesmers to enhance their theatrical abilities. Among their ranks one could be certain to find an aspiring conman or two, and their desire to deceive requires no explanation. All in all most people did not study the profession for very long. There probably wasn't a lot to learn, and so there were hardly any Mesmers among our ranks. Most of us wouldn't consider them useful allies, either.

I turned around with the rest of the small group to face Lady Elvea's unforgiving eyes. If the tone of her voice didn't silence you, her eyes usually did the trick. She wasn't known as a patient person and her temper was notorious. Even if you had never met her, the phrase rather a Charr than the Duchess was a familiar one. You didn't argue with her. You nodded and agreed. I suppose this was why she was a commander in the Vanguard- even though her skills in battle might be few, she made a good leader simply through her ability to keep us all in check. We saluted her.

"Are there no more Charr left to slay that you have time to lend ear to hearsay?" She asked no one in particular, her disdainful look going over the faces in the crowd. "Or is it that you simply prefer gossip over defending your country?" Her eyes met mine, and I felt a sudden urge to study the ground. I quietly wished it could swallow me up. Everyone stayed quiet. We weren't sure if we were supposed to speak up and answer, or if she wanted us to remain silent.

"I thought as much." Her eyes scrutinized the small crowd and I released the breath I hadn't realised I was holding. It was unnerving the way this woman was able to draw conclusions from a collective silence, mostly because you could never be sure what it was she was thinking and what she'd be doing next. "You," she gestured vaguely in my direction, then at two women nearby, "and you two… with me. Now."

She turned and stalked off, and the three of us meekly fell in behind her. The most infuriating thing about the whole deal was that she didn't even bother to look back to check if we were following. She knew that we would, and that was the worst thing about her. She was stuck-up and arrogant and always assumed that people did as she told them to, and sadly enough her presence tended to be so overwhelming that people automatically did do as she told them to.

She led us to a secluded part of the square, fenced off from the main area by large piles of rubble. I guessed that the large chunks of stone had once been pillars, although I couldn't be certain. I had never been to Piken Square before the duke's advance, and so I had no idea what it had looked like before the Charr invaded. She turned around and looked us all over, then put a hand on her hip.

"Your names?" she demanded.

"Alesia, Your Grace," the Monk girl spoke up nervously. I guessed that she was the youngest among us.

"Reyna." The Ranger was soft-spoken but determined, almost defiant. I noted that she didn't look the duchess in the eyes, though.

I gave the duchess a polite bow. "Your Grace, I'm-"

"Yes, I know who you are." I blinked at her, unable to hide my surprise that she had remembered me. I had hardly been a part of her life, I hadn't expected her to recognise my face, much less remember my name. "I believe you still owe me a hairpin," she said dryly.

I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, and I was certain I was completely crimson with embarrassment. I didn't know where to look or what to say. Lady Elvea either had an uncannily good memory, or she really knew how to hold a grudge. I cast my eyes downwards for the second time that day, waiting for her to continue. Instead, she let the silence endure, leaving the two others wondering and forcing me to remember the incident she was referring to.

It had been… what, eight years before the Searing? I had been in the final year of my studies as an Elementalist, and both Althea and Elvea had been at the Academy at the time to train as Mesmers. They were inseparable friends, and there wasn't a single young man at the Academy who didn't know who they were. They were both beautiful women, only around sixteen years of age at the time, and both were very unattainable.

Even then Althea and Rurik had been very close, and when their betrothal was announced some time later, not a soul was surprised by the news. No one approached Althea because we all knew that she was taken, even before she really was. Elvea was different. None of us approached her simply because there was something about her manner that told you it was best to keep away. Perhaps it was because she never smiled.

Back then she would wear her long, dark blond hair out of her face. It was done up somehow with little pins, but it was kept in place by a large and beautifully carved ivory pin. I used to think she did it to show off her pretty face, that she wanted to draw attention to her big, pale grey eyes and her full red lips. If she did, it was certainly effective.

I was in love the way only a young man can be in love- hopelessly infatuated and foolishly believing that you would die without the other's presence. I was always looking for excuses to be in the same general area as her, although I didn't have the nerve to actually approach her. The only time I did was a disaster, and I had my friends to thank for it. They had talked me into trying to talk to her, to flirt with her. Surely she couldn't be as unapproachable as she looked? Maybe she just wanted someone audacious, someone brave enough to approach her, flirt with her… steal her hairpin and her heart. I still haven't figured out how the hairpin bit had come into the mix.

The whole thing was doomed right from the start. She seemed determined to ignore me as I approached, and refused to acknowledge my existence even as I tried to talk to her. She was playing a card game with a few noblemen friends and didn't look up from the game a single time as I tried to address her, much to the amusement of her companions. It was horribly humiliating, and I was certain my heart would never recover from this injury.

I suppose it was desperation that led me to actually reach out and pull the ivory pin free from her hair, as if I wanted some keepsake to remember a lost love by. She hadn't seen it coming and she rounded on me furiously the instant it happened. I will never forget that image. She was wearing an elegant crimson dress that showed off her figure, and her long, wavy hair had tumbled down almost entirely, a few locks still held in place by some small pins. She looked dishevelled, and on a person who took such meticulous care of her appearance this look seemed very intimate somehow. I found it strangely exciting, but I didn't exactly stick around to enjoy the sight.

"The rumour is true." Her words came out of nowhere, tearing me away from my memory. I waited quietly, wondering if she was going to elaborate. I could see that the two women were glad she'd finally spoken up. They were clearly uncomfortable. "Lady Althea has gone missing and I'm afraid that Barradin has underestimated the difficulty of finding her. He is reckless, and so is Rurik."

Alesia gasped. "Althea's really gone?"

She was given an irritated look that spelled out 'isn't that what I just said?' quite clearly. "Barradin is a superb tactician, but his worries have clearly prevented him from seeing that he is overextending. As for Rurik…" she snorted. "Rurik is doing an excellent job at running around like a headless chicken, making an absolute nuisance of himself."

I was shocked to hear these things voiced so bluntly. Some of us had thought it, but none of us had had the nerve to say it, never mind so casually and so plainly. Prince Rurik might have been a friend of hers, but as heir to the throne, he was still her better. She didn't seem to care much about that, though.

"The heir to the throne should know better," she went on as if she read my mind. "However, it seems that his fears are getting the better of him, and if this whole thing isn't resolved swiftly, there's no knowing what sort of trouble he'll end up in. Ascalon can't afford to take such a blow."

The three of us were exchanging nervous glances now. It was clear that she had some sort of plan, and it probably involved us. It was probably also very dangerous, and most certainly reckless. "You want us three to look for her?" I asked.

"I'll go with you," she said. As if she'd be of any use!

I looked her up and down audaciously, my disagreement clear. She was wearing an elegant blue coat and long, tight trousers tucked into a pair of expensive-looking boots. Her hair had been cut to shoulder-length. I suppose it was her Mesmer way of dressing for battle, but she might as well have worn a ball gown or a nightie. In fact, the latter two were quite possibly less conspicuous. "Are you sure?"

Her eyes met mine, and I forced myself not to shrink back. "Which one of you three has a clue where to start looking, then?"

That's how it always was. You avoided arguing with her, because if you did try to, you invariably found yourself disarmed and usually humiliated. We set out not much later, a group just small enough to go about undetected, although I wasn't sure how we would be able to get Lady Althea to safety if we did find her.

Lady Elvea led us through the Breach quite efficiently. She clearly knew her way around the area, and she proved to be an invaluable asset when it came to remaining undetected. We made it to the Diessa Lowlands without much trouble- we had run into two stray Charr scouts, and those were easily dealt with. I hadn't seen the duchess join in the fight, though.

The Lowlands were no more than a lifeless waste, a land of ashes and dirt. It was no different from the rest of Ascalon, the green lands of which nothing but a memory now remained. It was disheartening to see that the Searing had reached even here, but we pressed on. Reyna was scouting for us, but occasionally our Mesmer leader would direct us away from the trail Reyna suggested we follow.

There were more Charr scouts about here, and we had to be even more careful. We had to dispose of several of them and I was beginning to think we would not be able to remain undiscovered much longer. Still we pressed on, following Elvea more than Reyna now. I could see the doubts written clearly on the faces of the other two women, but Elvea moved with a purpose and the three of us followed quietly.

Eventually she led us down a cliff into a small bowl and followed the cliff face closely, one gloved hand lightly running over the rock face. We came to a dead end and she knelt down, brushing away some dirt on the ground with her right hand. I moved a little closer to see what she was doing. She picked up a richly carved hairpin, and very carefully brushed the dust off it with her free hand.

"This was a gift from Rurik," she said. I had to strain to hear the words.

"How did you know it was here?" I asked quietly.

She looked up at me, almost disoriented for a moment before her eyes went back to their usual cold gaze. "The Charr too have Mesmers," she said, "and it takes a Mesmer to recognise a Mesmer's tricks." She glanced at Reyna, who cast her eyes down and bit her lower lip.

"So the tracks… they were false?" I asked.

She got up and shrugged. "Some of them. Most lead north, to Dragon's Gullet. The Charr have a Flame Temple there somewhere." I saw her fist close around the pin. Her face looked grim now, and her eyes spoke where her voice had faltered. Lady Althea had been captured by Charr, and taken to the temple where they made sacrifices to their false gods. There was little hope of finding her alive.

"What now?" Alesia asked cautiously.

"We return to Piken Square, and report to the duke." Elvea tucked the pin into a pocket hidden on the inside of her coat. "It is late in the day and there is little else we can do."

She moved past me and walked back along the cliff. Some feet away from us she stopped and waited for a moment, then slowly her head turned to the left a little and all three of us followed her gaze. For a moment I thought I saw a woman there, or the image of a woman richly dressed, but when I blinked and looked again, she was gone. Elvea was moving again, and we followed quietly.

The journey back went a lot faster, and we arrived at Piken just as the sun was setting. The trek had been uneventful, which was just was well. None of us had any desire to speak and it must have been written clearly on our faces, for the guards let us pass without a word. Once past the guards Elvea stopped and turned to look at us again. She regarded us quietly for a while, then she dug up a pouch of coins from some hidden pocket and tossed it my way.

"For your troubles," she said carelessly. "Split it evenly."

I looked down at the leather purse, then back up at her. "What are you going to do?"

"Report to the duke, of course. Somebody has to, and what I have to report is best left to be said by a familiar face. I would not burden you with such a task." She looked tired herself, but I said nothing of it. She didn't wait for a response and walked off.

I turned to look at Reyna and Alesia. The purse suddenly felt very heavy. "I have no desire for this reward," I said. "I do not want to take coin for a message to a father detailing his daughter's death." They both nodded quietly. I could tell their spirits were dampened, and they weren't going to take the coin either.

"Perhaps Viggo will take it," Reyna suggested. "For the information?"

I shook my head. "He would not want it any more than we do."

"Then ask someone headed for the city to take it," said Alesia. "They can give it to Ellie Rigby. She cares for the orphans there and will surely put it to good use."

~*~

I parted with the purse some time later and prepared for the night when I heard footsteps headed my way. The determined clicking of heels suggested that it was the duchess again, although I couldn't think of a reason why she'd seek me out. I was long past the stage of vainly flattering myself with a fool's hope, although seeing her again had certainly brought back some of my old feelings.

I lay down, resting my head on my backpack-turned-pillow, staring up at the stars as they came out. Moments later my vision was obscured by the duchess, and I couldn't help but notice that she had changed clothes. There wasn't a trace of dust on her and she looked as cold and distant as ever. I knew I should rise and pay her the proper respect, but a defiant part of me encouraged me to remain as I was. I gave her a lazy, apologetic sort of smile that was supposed to explain without words why I refused to get up at this hour.

Under different circumstances she would have kicked me, I'm quite certain, or at the very least reprimanded me firmly enough to make me sincerely regret my actions. Her face betrayed nothing and she seemed aloof as always, but her lack of response to my defiance was as clear a sign of grief on her as tears would be on anyone else. She gave me a condescending look, then sat down next to me. I pushed myself up a little, leaning on my elbows.

"The duke is overcome with grief, and Rurik is sure to follow suit when he hears the news," she said. I found myself surprised at how calmly she managed to speak. "I have no doubt that he will be beside himself."

I simply nodded. I wasn't sure what she was trying to say, although I had a good guess, and I thought that it would be better if I let her do this at her own pace.

"Men will do foolish things if left to their own devices." I let the slight on my gender pass. This wasn't the time to argue such a thing, and Lady Elvea was certainly not the person to argue with.

She was silent for a moment and I thought she might be nervous or upset, but when I looked beside me she was as composed as ever. I wondered how she was capable of looking so… serene, almost, after she had just lost her closest friend. I was unable to hide my own bleak mood, and I hadn't really known Lady Althea. It was almost unnatural the way this woman was capable of being so emotionless. It made her seem inhuman.

"I intend to travel to the Flame Temple tomorrow, and I will not return from there without her remains." She sounded very determined and I couldn't help but snort- what she intended to do amounted to suicide. She gave me a cold, hard stare. I looked away. "If I do not go, then Rurik will, or Barradin. They'll probably try to storm the temple and even if they succeed, they'll find many more have died along the way. We need all the troops we can get, we cannot afford to lose anyone."

"So you're off to the Charr barbecue on your own," I quipped. "Clever."

"You're coming with me," she said.

I stared at her. I was so shocked that for a moment I couldn't find the words to object. If she was off to be a Charr meal that was all well and good, but I had little desire to join her on such a pointless venture. "With all due respect, my lady, I'm not sure if-"

"I need you." There was just enough of a change of tone in those three words to be suggestive, although her face remained the same. I'm embarrassed to say that it was enough to shut me up. "Reyna and Alesia will be joining us again."

"Are they aware of this, or have you not seen fit to inform them yet?" I lay back down, resigning myself to the inescapable task at hand.

She got up. "We leave at dawn. Rest while you can."

~*~

In the end it wasn't as impossible a task as I had first assumed it to be. We were more familiar with the land now, and we used the rocky terrain to our advantage as we travelled to the temple. For the most part we didn't encounter any Charr, and those few we ran into met with a very swift end. I was worried that things would be different once we got to the temple, for we had no heavily armed Warriors with us, but I swiftly realised that the duchess had no intention to storm the temple at all.

Once I figured out her strategy I felt much more at ease. The Charr around the temple patrolled in pairs, and Reyna could take out one of them with her bow without being noticed. The other one was killed off swiftly with my magic even as it realised its companion was dead. Eventually we made it to the temple grounds this way. It was teeming with Charr, but this proved to be no real obstacle. Reyna's bow and some clever illusions conjured up by Elvea helped draw out Charr little by little, and it was never hard to manage. Alesia was there to heal what injuries we received, but there were very few.

I'm not sure how many Charr we killed. There were many, but there were many more left at the temple still. Elvea had only secured a path- just enough to make it safely to the altar, and just enough to be able to flee swiftly and, hopefully, unseen. It was an audacious plan, but surprisingly enough it worked. We arrived back at Piken Square with just a few scratches and an urn full of ashes.

This time she took the three of us with her to Duke Barradin. I had been quietly wondering all the way back to Piken how she could be certain that these were the remains of Lady Althea, and not someone else, but I had not dared to voice my concern. It was neither time nor place to bring it up, and I had wrongly doubted her judgement before. She probably knew something that we didn't. Perhaps Althea's lingering spirit had somehow guided her.

To my surprise she presented two items to the Duke. The one was the urn with Lady Althea's remains, the other was a finely made gold ring in which countless little gems were set. Barradin's eyes strayed sadly over the ring, then rested on the urn. He closed his eyes for a moment, then he took the urn from Elvea. After a moment's hesitation, he also took the ring.

"Althea's ashes…" he said hoarsely. "You have put this father's heart at ease. I thank you." His words were directed at all of us, and I suppose this was what she had brought us with her for. She nodded lightly at the duke, then turned away. She walked away without a word, leaving the three of us with Barradin.

I muttered my condolences and bowed politely, then made a quick exit. I felt out of place near the duke, especially while he was in such a grieved state. I was actually annoyed that she had left the way she had, and I wanted to address the matter. Perhaps it was a good thing that I could not find her. Bringing it up with her would surely have ended in a disaster.

~*~

There seemed to be no end to the war we were waging against the Charr. We had reclaimed the Great Northern Wall, but there was no telling how long we would be able to hold it. In the two years since the Searing we had never really won any territory, but thankfully we rarely lost any of it either. I could not remember a time when Ascalon had not been at war.

I was born during the Guild Wars, a period of conflict that lasted over five decades. The guilds of the kingdoms of Ascalon, Orr and Kryta turned every piece of land into a battlefield, and nothing was left unchanged. By the time it ended, Orr was swallowed by the sea, Kryta turned to false gods, and Ascalon… Ascalon was doomed to fall to strife within. The Guild Wars ended with the Charr invasion, and an event bitterly named the Searing, but even the Charr could not take Ascalon so easily.

King Adelbern had been born a common man, although it was said he was a descendant of King Doric, the legendary first king of Ascalon. During the Guild Wars he had shown great courage and the wisdom to hold the nation together, and so he had eventually been crowned king. He was generally well-liked, but there were those who did not like having a common man to rule them.

The Royalists were a group of people who desired to replace King Adelbern with a man they thought more fit for kingship, a man whose lineage was much less questionable. They wanted Duke Barradin on the throne, although the duke himself had expressed his loyalty to his king. Even as the Charr were on our doorstep, the Royalists were looking for ways to undermine the monarchy as we had come to know it.

Some think that Prince Rurik's betrothal to the duke's daughter Althea was little more than a means to an end, a way of pacifying the Royalists while more pressing matters could be considered. I did not think this was true myself, I had seen the pair of them together and knew that their affection was genuine. It could not have come from an arranged marriage.

It never came to an actual marriage. While we were busy squabbling amongst ourselves, we failed to see the true scope of the threat on our doorstep. We did not realise that the Charr had a secret weapon, an ancient magic that overcast the sky with brimstone clouds and made it rain sulphuric crystals. It was as if the sky was on fire, and that day it rained flames. The Searing did not last long, but then it did not need to. By the time it was over our world had changed forever, and even as we strove to recover from this arcane injury, the Charr came for us in large numbers.

We have fought the beasts incessantly ever since that day, but although the Royalists abandoned their cause there was still strife within our kingdom. Many of us started to lose hope, and our despair divided us. There were those who wanted to stay in Ascalon, to beat back the Charr and rebuild the kingdom from the rubble. King Adelbern was one of them, and many people rallied to him.

It was Prince Rurik whose voice was greatest among those who did not agree. He was a man of the people, and like his father he was loved and admired. There were many of us who chose to join the Ascalon Vanguard, Prince Rurik's private forces, rather than King Adelbern's army. Prince Rurik loved and respected his father, but after two years of fighting and the loss of his beloved, he was becoming rash and started to openly argue the decisions of his father.

The news of Lady Althea's death must have hit him really hard. Over the course of the days that followed there were constant rumours that he was being reckless somewhere, causing trouble and endangering others with his insane ventures. Less than a week after the little trip to the Flame Temple, I heard that the prince had taken the duchess and a few others on a mad venture through the ruins of Surmia to free prisoners of the Charr even as far north as the remains of Drascir.

Apparently it didn't quite turn out as planned. From what Alesia told me, I learned that they had managed to free some prisoners, but found themselves trapped inside the old academy of Drascir. Prince Rurik had activated an ancient magic mechanism of the academy, though, and they had all escaped to the academy of Nolani before the Charr could catch them.

Alesia wasn't sure about the story from there, but we did know that it had eventually led to a significant victory over the Charr at Rin. When that battle was over, King Adelbern had come to congratulate his son. The story of what happened there was known by all. The King had seen the victory as a sign that better times were coming, but Prince Rurik had argued this, advocating what amounted to an exodus of the people of Ascalon to Kryta, in the hope of a better life. The king had been furious and rejected the suggestion, but the prince had insisted, and eventually King Adelbern disowned his own son… and banished him.

Within hours everyone was talking about the incident, their voices mixed with hope and fear. Prince Rurik had not left alone; he had taken almost the entire Ascalon Vanguard with him and called on the people to follow him to Kryta. Just a few days later, many people were packing up, ready and more than willing to leave the past behind them. I was watching the activity with mixed feelings. The loss of the Ascalon Vanguard was a severe blow to Ascalon's defences, but at the same time I was tempted to follow.

"Apparently the duchess has gone with him." I looked away from the small group of merchants packing up their belongings and turned to Alesia, who was watching the same group. Her worries were written plainly on her face.

"That doesn't surprise me," I answered. "They have been good friends for a very long time." I looked at the merchants again. It was clear that they were preparing for a long journey.

"Friends before country?"

I shrugged. "I guess. I think she sees it as her duty to look after him."

She laughed a little. "I don't blame her. With the way he's been behaving, somebody has to."

I smiled. "I suppose so."

"So…" She nudged some small rocks with her foot, moving them through the dust. "What will you do? Are you going to follow them?"

"I don't know." I sighed. "There is no guarantee that things will be better, and yet… things are bound to get worse here. We've lost troops, and morale."

"I feel the same way." She turned to look at me and smiled knowingly. "Don't you want to follow her, though?"

"Follow who?" I tried to sound casual, but couldn't entirely hide my frustration. Was it so blatantly obvious, then?

"Lady Elvea. The duchess." She was still smiling, perhaps trying to read my face.

"Oh…" Indifference was my last resort. I wasn't sure if it was convincing. "Why should I?"

She had the nerve to laugh at me. I shot her a furious look, but it didn’t silence her and I was forced to wait for it to pass. When she finally finished laughing she gave me a more serious look. "I've come to realise she's not a bad person. She's cold and arrogant, but she knows what needs to be done and makes sure that it is done. I've learned that the times when I questioned her judgement, I was wrong to do so."

I reflected on that for a little while, trying to figure out what she was trying to say. I sighed again. "So you feel that it may not be a bad idea to join Prince Rurik on his journey."

She smiled a little and nodded. "There is nothing for us here save a fight to the death, and we will find death soon enough in this war. I would rather fight for a chance of a better life. King Adelbern is a noble man, but he cannot change Ascalon back to what it was, even if the war is won. Rurik…" She paused for a moment and frowned. Rurik was no longer a prince, but it seemed wrong to her as much as it seemed wrong to me. She corrected herself. "Prince Rurik cannot change Ascalon either, and he knows this. He may not be able to take us to a better life, but he offers us a chance. He gives me hope."

I nodded. "He gives us all hope." The merchants were leaving now, ready to find a new life on the other side of the mountains. "I would rather pursue hope than death."

Alesia nodded. "I will go with you, then. The road to the mountains is not safe."

"What's this? Leaving without me?" We turned to see a man I knew as Orion Elek standing some way away, with Reyna beside him. There were a few others, but I didn't know their names.

Orion was an Elementalist like myself, and he was fairly well known. He was quite talented, but mostly he was known for his looks. His hair had turned grey, almost white, after the Searing despite his young age, and for some reason this attracted women in droves. He had been a popular man even before the Searing despite whispers that he was a Royalist, but after the Searing he was quite possibly one of the most talked-of men in Ascalon. All of this amounted to a severe case of arrogance, and I never could stand his presence for very long.

"Wouldn't dream of it," I muttered. Alesia was fighting off a smirk.

"Wonderful," Orion said. "Let's go find our fortune."