204

Chapter 204 : Winged Bedfellows

“Fellow adventurers. Today marks a historic occasion.” The tall Angellus said, her elegant frame poised and graceful as she turned to address the gathered people directly.

“Never in the history of the Twilight Festival has a single chapel recruited more than half of the prospects. This accolade belongs to the Doyenne of Memento Mori, Enzo Gaines.” She said as she flourished her hand in his direction.

“Not only that, but this year’s auction has seen every single participant finding a chapel to belong to. That’s right. Never in the history of Adventia, despite this being a continent wide event, has any auction fulfilled both of these events. I think that deserves recognition and praise, don’t you?”

The woman’s question seemed more like a certainty of rhetoric than a request for opinion. Still, some of the previously quiet people in the crowd began to murmur.

“Well that is pretty impressive if you think about it..”

“Holy shit! She’s right. I’ve never seen a single chapel get more than ten or fifteen recruits at the most.”

The whispers turned into a wave of clamor before finally the crowd seemed to have found its voice once more.

“Yea! That’s amazing!” One man shouted.

“I have no clue who you are, man, but you rock. I love an underdog!” Another screamed over the crowd.

“Who is that woman? I’ve met her before.” Agni asked as she leaned in towards Oliver.

“That’s Iofela. She’s a high ranking Angellus. A big shot, even as uppity angels go.” He explained. Glancing once more over the woman’s persona and demeanor, Agni could sense her aura of dignity. There was also something else, she seemed distant and unapproachable. The impression Agni got was like a beautiful land of snow. Pleasing to the eye, but inherently with its own set of dangers.

She also recognized the young man standing next to Iofela. It was the same rude Angellus that started an altercation with Katrin and Shula. Agni could almost feel her blood boiling as she recalled their brief skirmish, one where she was forced to her knees by the power of the holy element. If it hadn’t been for Vivian Lex at that time, things would have no doubt gone sideways.

Agni had no intention of changing her feelings of disdain towards the male Angellus and this showed. The moment she looked at his vacant, glasslike eyes she could feel a growing desire to slap him into submission. Despite this, Agni did her best to conceal the torrent of anger, it wasn’t appropriate for the moment or practical to indulge in.

The elegant Angellus allowed the people to participate in their random frivolity. She waited patiently with a serenely placid expression on her face. Finally after a minute or two she raised her hand, almost instantly catching the attention of the crowd. Seconds later the loud nature had turned into a soft echo and quiet returned to the group of people as they awaited to hear what this woman would do next.

“Enzo Gaines, please come and join me at the forefront of the stage.” Iofela said. The broad, husky man seemed genuinely surprised. He lifted a brow behind his monocled eye and got to his feet, joining her as requested.

“The man you see before you is a shining example of what hard work, dedication and persistence can achieve. You, elders of Grenvale, the Doyennes who sit upon this stage and stand head and shoulders above others.” Iofela began, pausing only to cast her glance towards the long row of chairs just to her side.

“I pray that you can follow Mr. Gaines' example and endeavor to achieve the same levels of greatness. Our Adventia needs more people like this.” She stated. Agni could feel the mood shift dramatically almost as soon as these words passed Iofela’s lips. Agni also couldn’t help but notice Vivian Lex. She twitched, ever so slightly as she gripped the hand rest of her chair before regaining her composure. Each of the other seated Doyenne had similar responses, some looked visibly displeased while many struggled to contain their displeasure. This most noticeably manifested in leaking mana, causing some of the recruits nearby to shiver uncontrollably.

Iofela and her fellow Angellus seemed unaffected and completely indifferent to the silent rebellion. Instead she walked forth and took both of Enzo Gaines' large, bear-like hands within her own. She then smiled broadly, lowered her head and began to do something completely unexpected. She began to pray.

“What? No way.” Oliver said, completely taken aback. He looked more shocked than anything, giving a grand reaction to the seemingly simple gesture taking place before them. Katrin’s curiosity was immediately piqued, but it was Agni who asked the question.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Not exactly, it's just. Angellus have divine powers. Their abilities all stem from the word itself, or divine script. It’s something even an Archmage like me can’t use freely. She’s not just saying a prayer, she’s speaking a blessing into existence. It’s a class skill, a form of magic. Also, a blessing from an Angellus is--rare. They are enforcers, they rarely choose sides, despite their prudish natures. For an Angellus, a high ranking one to bestow a blessing, publicly upon this man. It’s unheard of.” Oliver replied. Agni could have sworn she saw a vein throb along the center of his forehead, such was the strength of Oliver’s obvious indignation.

The Doyennes fared no better with their reactions. Artemis Fellblade,the most outspoken of them all, got to her feet. For a moment it looked like she wanted to protest but she thought twice almost immediately as the shorter male Angellus cast a glance in her direction.

The others were so surprised that they simply didn’t know how to react. Iofela’s once lowered head lifted upwards, at the same time her eyes popped open. Her pupils were gone, replaced by an intense white energy. The words which issued forth from her mouth were unintelligible. It was clear that she was speaking but the words themselves sounded distorted. Warbled, undulating and reverberating all at once. Just the power of speaking them caused waves of unseen energy to disperse through the surroundings. Anyone within ten meters (30 ft) could feel a certain pressure being exerted upon them. Though it wasn’t oppressive, it was enough to make most take a step back -- and Agni was no exception.

With each word spoken a circle of magic began to form, created exclusively from the spoken words. These words became visible manifestations of Iofela’s magic, appearing like runes that were unfamiliar to all who beheld them. Even Katrin, a Scribe who dealt with magic script daily, could not comprehend most of the letters on display.

“This is Enochian. An ancient language known only to a handful. This is.. Mythos territory.” Oliver said as he struggled to keep track of the dizzying number of runic words taking shape. Iofela’s mouth moved at an impossible rate, so much so that there was a clear dissonance between the sound and her moving lips.

With each verse spoken by the Angellus a new level to the blessing appeared until three counter-revolving magic circles rotated near Gaines’ feet. Iofela then uttered another single word, causing the magical circles to rotate and exude a bright light which rose upwards. In a flash of light Gaines was consumed as the extent of her blessing was bestowed.

“Enzo Gaines. I’ve bestowed upon you a blessing of grace and protection in honor of your accomplishments. May the halls of Memento Mori always serve as an example and inspiration to others.” Iofela said, her once glowing eyes finally returning to normal.

She bowed her head once more, slowly and deeply as she finally released her grasp on Gaines’ hands. The entire square was quiet, most of them dumbfounded by the sight of an angelic blessing. As Iofela stood, her head bowed in reverence to the lumbering man before her, a lone shriek of approval ignited the gathered adventurers into a furor of applause that Agni had rarely experienced.

With such a commotion all of the Doyenne on stage were forced to clap, begrudgingly, to at least save face. After all, which among them dared to offend the main law-abiding entities of the city?

DreamOfRen