Shen listened to the conversation between Raven and Greagor in relative silence, only responding with a half-smile and a shrug whenever Greagor had offered him some acknowledgement. Khaalida was right, the man sure was friendly. And quite talkative. Shen found himself grateful that Raven was taking the brunt of the word barrage that came their way. In fact, he found himself even more grateful that Raven was his mentor and that Greagor served as Khaalida and company's temporary chief, and not the other way around. It was easy to get along with Raven. Her words and actions all seemed purposeful. Greagor seemed to just... enjoy talking.
His gaze began to wander as the conversation progressed. It was exciting to know that there was potential learning about the nature of the mind-mages, but if all the talk was only about what needed to be done and not what has been done, well, then it struggled to draw interest. He watched Raven as she politely offered her attention to her fellow mage. How she nodded to convey interest, smiled and raised her eyebrows as an interesting point was brought up, while rested her head on one hand. After a while though, his gaze then shifted down the table, briefly noting the way Alameth and Acasis seemed to listen intently to their new ward's words. Then there was Khaalida, who also seemed to occasionally glance around to watch the people who were silent rather than the ones speaking. Before anyone would notice his staring, Shen turned his head back towards the main drivers of the conversation.
"It certainly sounds like you have a lot of work ahead of you," Raven commented, briefly glance down towards her plate. She quickly plucked two strawberries that had made their way into her salad and dropped them onto the edge of Shen's plate across from her. "But if all goes well, your findings will be very unique, I'm sure. There is not very much literature about the use of mind-based abilities. That being said, I must acknowledge your zeal in the face of such a daunting task." She glanced down the table, taking in the faces of the apprentices that had accompanied Greagor. If their gazes met, she would offered Khaalida a small smile. Her attention then turned to the other two mages who must have been Greagor's new charges. She seemed especially intrigued with little Acasis. "And what's your name, little one?" She asked cheerily.
Once Raven was content, and both she and Shen seemed to be finished, she stood. "Thank you all for joining us," she said warmly. "It's about time I get back to the task that brought me to this tower." Her eyes flicked towards her charge, who promptly stood. He offered the rest of the party a small nod before following Raven to return their dishes and be on their way.
"So you knew Greagor from your time in your tower?" Shen asked as they walked.
Raven shrugged mildly. "Yes, but our interactions were fairly limited. He is rather friendly, I suppose. I should ask if he would be willing to trade the little girl in exchange for you." She turned her head to flash him a mischievous grin as she watched his reaction. After they made their way through the kitchens, Raven began back towards the lift in the center of their level of the tower. "Let's begin discussing what your future duties as a mage will be. I think my chambers will work fine."
It did not take long for them to find themselves back in the main room of Raven's chambers, in their usual seats. Unlike usual, Raven sat closer to the edge of her seat, contrasting to relaxed position she always seemed to assume when she sat there. "Before I go through the trouble of reexplaining everything you already know, why don't you tell me what you know about the Battleseer class?"
Shen scratched the back of his head, gathering his thoughts. "Being a combat focused group, we are tasked with taking care of any fighting that is required for the betterment of the magehood. Creatures that are hunted for resources that can not be taken down using conventional traps are fought by the battleseers. Hunting missions that have the potential to go south also require the presence of a battleseer in case the group is confronted by creatures they can not simply escape from. The responsibility to protect the towers from any sort of attacks also falls on us. Sometimes our help is enlisted for other minor tasks that might require a skilled fighter, but I have not ever heard of what kind of tasks require such."
Raven nodded idly as she listened to Shen's explanation, her lips curling slightly at the words "we" and "us". "Yes, all of that is true," she responded. "When exploring unknown lands, the mapweavers might require a small team of battleseers to join in case of an attack. There might be various other reasons battleseers are needed to serve as simple bodyguards, but usually that kind of work is reserved for the weaker and less ambitious few." She shifted in her seat, seemingly debating something in her mind. "There is also another, less spoken of role that battleseers play. Such a task is reserved only for the strongest, unflinching mages." Her eyes fell to the table in front of, and they remained there as she continued. "Have you heard of the Azo'thai?"
"Are those the... they're the demons that used to hunt magic folk and mages, feasting on their magical energy or even just their extract. Isn't that right? They were said to have been wiped out once the Dark Days ended."
"Wiped out," Raven repeated meekly. "They are anything but, I'm afraid. They still exist. But their numbers are limited, and the strongest of our class keep it that way. Some fondly call it the 'culling.' The Battleseers were originally called such because the first leaders of the towers' battle mages were clairvoyants. They could see when the number of Azo'thai was beginning to grow too large, and would send battle mages to cut them down. Being that they only reside in one specific corner of the continent, it is fairly easy to do so. But completely eliminating them is impossible. They always return, and it is unclear why."
She shook her head gently. "Never mind all of that though. You will never get the chance to even fight an Azo'thai if we don't teach you your rituals. There are still a few you will have to perform on your road to ascension, and many more afterwards. The next three rituals are meant to help you increase your control of your powers to the next level, in preparation for the final ritual just before your ascension ceremony. Think of them as the three points that will be on your star."
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