Twelve days into academy life, Klause remains in the warded grounds with his covenant-marked palm faintly bleeding. Liora and Caelen stand nearby after Brakka’s assessment.
Across the central walk, a halfling girl of Klause’s age approaches in a neat navy council coat, flanked by two tall young adult men in silver-trimmed uniforms.
The first bodyguard, a young adult man with a square jaw and a silver shoulder clasp, has a broad build, dark skin, and cropped black hair. The second is lean, pale, and fair-haired. Their mana signatures strike Klause as strangely familiar.
Klause larent
They are the student body council. I have seen those signatures before, but I cannot place where.
Nearby students quiet as the trio crosses the stones. The halfling’s sharp eyes settle directly on Klause, while both guards watch the faintly glowing wardstones around him.
Liora
That is the council. They have been asking about the courtyard wards since yesterday.
Councilor Tessa Vale
Klause Larent, I presume. The council would like a word about the unstable ward reactions surrounding you.
✓ Quest Accepted
Address the student council’s concerns
“And all of your names are, I would like to know if I am to go with you”
SUCCESS (Great Persuasion, rolled -1)
Klause larent
And all of your names are? I would also like to know whether I am expected to go with you.
The question quiets the nearby murmurs. Klause’s covenant mark pulses, and fresh blood slips from his palm onto the academy stones.
Councilor Tessa Vale
I am Councilor Tessa Vale. These are my escorts, Daren Holt and Silas Merrow. Yes, Klause Larent, we are asking you to come with us.
The Broad Council Guard
Daren Holt. We are not accusing you of anything. The ward reactions require a formal account, and your presence will make that account clearer.
The Lean Council Guard
Silas Merrow. The council chamber is close, and you may bring your companions. We only need your testimony and permission to examine the recorded disturbances.
Liora
I am coming with him. If this concerns the courtyard, I witnessed the duel and the wardstones’ response.
Tessa inclines her head, accepting Liora’s condition. The guards’ attention remains fixed on Klause’s bleeding palm, and suspicion settles over the invitation despite its courteous words.
“Ok, what is it then”
SUCCESS (Great Persuasion, rolled +0)
Klause larent
What is it then?
Tessa studies Klause’s bleeding palm, then gestures toward the wardstones. The nearby students fall silent as the council guards form a measured perimeter.
Councilor Tessa Vale
The council wants an account of yesterday’s courtyard disturbance, including the phoenix, the griffin, and the force that awakened the old wardstones.
Councilor Tessa Vale
We also need to determine whether your covenant mark is causing the unstable reactions, or merely revealing damage that was already present.
Daren Holt
The records show several surges after your duel began. No one was harmed, but the eastern wardline registered enough pressure to require inspection.
Silas Merrow
Your testimony will be entered alongside Liora’s. You may explain the magic in your own words, and the council will examine the recorded patterns without touching your companions.
Tessa turns toward the central hall, where pale runes brighten along the paving stones. Liora steps closer to Klause, while the guards wait for him to follow.
“Ok, lets go then I say walking with them while healing my hands cut completely and stopping the bleed”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled -1)
Klause larent
Okay, let’s go then.
Klause walks with Tessa, Daren, and Silas toward the central hall, keeping Liora beside him. Mana gathers calmly through his injured hand.
The covenant mark cools beneath his palm. The split skin closes completely, the bleeding stops, and the last ache fades without disturbing the surrounding wardstones.
Liora
That is better. Try not to reopen it before we reach the council chamber.
Councilor Tessa Vale
The healing was controlled and contained. I will include that in the account, though it raises further questions about the covenant.
Daren Holt
The central hall is ahead. Once inside, the recorded patterns will be shown to you before anyone asks for an explanation.
The group passes beneath the hall’s pale rune arch. Behind them, the wardstones settle into a steady glow as the council chamber opens beyond.
“We then arrive at the student councils office which is much bigger than I expected”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +2)
The rune-lined passage opens into the student council office, a vast chamber beneath a vaulted glass dome. Tiered balconies, long council tables, and hanging archives fill the space.
Klause larent
This is much larger than I expected.
Tall windows reveal the academy grounds beyond, while suspended crystal lamps cast steady light over dozens of desks and sealed record cabinets.
Liora
They need all this space just to keep track of academy affairs?
Councilor Tessa Vale
The council oversees ward reports, student petitions, discipline, event scheduling, and several duties inherited from older administrations.
Tessa leads the group across polished stone toward a circular table at the chamber’s center. Students and clerks glance up as the phoenix and griffin follow.
Daren Holt
The examination record is prepared. You may sit wherever you prefer, Klause Larent, and your companions may remain beside you.
“So im assuming your all mages seeing as how you guys don't have swords*I say sitting down in a seat*”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +2)
Klause larent
So I’m assuming you’re all mages, seeing as you don’t have swords.
Klause sits in the offered chair, with Liora taking the seat beside him. The phoenix and griffin settle behind them as the council guards remain standing.
Councilor Tessa Vale
Your assumption is understandable, but incorrect. I am trained in council spellwork, though I am not a battlefield mage.
Daren Holt
I am a swordsman. My weapon is warded and carried beneath my coat when protocol requires it. I do not need to draw it for a testimony.
Silas Merrow
I practice both swordsmanship and defensive magic. The academy teaches its escorts to answer more than one kind of threat.
Liora
Not everyone who protects people needs to display a sword or spell at every moment. The important part is whether they can stand ready when danger comes.
Councilor Tessa Vale
Now that the question is answered, we can begin. The first record concerns the eastern wardline and the moment your covenant awakened it.
“What about it*I ask looking at her* is it questionable”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +1)
Klause larent
What about it? Is it questionable?
Klause looks to Councilor Tessa Vale across the circular table. Suspended crystals brighten, projecting the eastern wardline as a web of blue and silver threads above the records.
Councilor Tessa Vale
The record is questionable in two ways. The wardline was already damaged, but its dormant channels should not have awakened so violently.
Councilor Tessa Vale touches a rune. One section of the projection twists around the family charm’s signature, then separates into a second pattern pulsing with the covenant mark.
Councilor Tessa Vale
Your presence revealed the weakness, but the covenant appears to have supplied the force that made the damage visible. That distinction matters.
Daren Holt
The surge was contained, and no student was harmed. Still, the pattern does not match ordinary elemental casting or a simple ward failure.
Silas Merrow
We need to know whether your companions were formed before the reaction, during it, or because the wardline answered your covenant.
Councilor Tessa Vale
The record is questionable, not your testimony. Explain what happened in the courtyard, and we can separate your actions from the ward’s older damage.
“Nothing more than just a fight he used earth and water i used all the elements simple as that”
FAILURE (Great Persuasion, rolled -2)
Klause larent
It was nothing more than a fight. Caelen used earth and water. I used all four elements. Simple as that.
The projected wardline ripples, accepting the elemental sequence but refusing to settle around it. Several silver threads knot together where the covenant mark appeared.
Councilor Tessa Vale
That describes the duel, but not the disturbance. The record shows your elements touching the old wardline before the covenant flare.
Daren Holt
We cannot determine whether the damaged channels reacted to your combined magic or whether your covenant redirected the reaction.
Silas Merrow
Your account is honest, but too compressed to separate cause from consequence. The council cannot clear the record on that alone.
Tessa divides the projection into four colored strands. The earth and water traces remain readable, while fire and wind vanish into the covenant’s blue pulse.
Councilor Tessa Vale
There is an opening, however. If you describe each element in the order you shaped it, we can compare your memory against the preserved traces instead of treating the duel as one event.
“Nothing more than just a fight he used earth and water i used all the elements simple as that”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +1)
The four strands brighten together, and the projection settles around Klause’s statement. Earth and water anchor the pattern while fire and wind flare through the covenant’s blue pulse.
Councilor Tessa Vale
Understood. The disturbance occurred during the fight itself: Caelen used earth and water, while you shaped all four elements.
Daren Holt
The preserved traces support that account. The wardline reacted to the combined elemental pressure, not to any deliberate attack on the academy.
Tessa adjusts the projection. The eastern wardline’s older damage separates clearly from the fresh elemental disturbance, leaving two distinct records above the table.
Silas Merrow
That explains the surge. Your covenant amplified the response, but the fight supplied the sequence and force that awakened the weakened channels.
Councilor Tessa Vale
Your testimony is accepted as a complete account of the courtyard disturbance. The council will record the event as an uncontrolled interaction during supervised practice, with no hostile intent.
Councilor Tessa Vale
You and Caelen will still submit a ward-repair report, but this inquiry is no accusation. The distinction between your magic and the old damage is now clear.
Quest Complete
Address the student council’s concerns
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Good→Great