Chapter 65: Registered

Merlara guides me into a rather small and private room with shelves of books on both sides as well as a trolley with all the pointy things needed to save a life…or end one. 

The room has a small desk with some papers littered over it and in one of the corners there is a small tea table with fancy one-seater couches that feel out of place and stand out like a sore thumb in the rather deary and poor environment.

Annoyingly, the tingling from Kaylin, the elf, hasn't even begun to cease. In fact, it only seems to be getting more intense with the hairs on my arms and legs rising periodically.

I put the disturbance at the back of my mind as I'm about to meet with the Madame of this place, the one who will hopefully get me registered as a citizen from Mafiel. 

"Please, come sit with me." It's the Madame, she gives off the same vibe I got off of the Matron at the lodge; old and wise. Except, unlike the Matron she's several times younger looking and has on tight fitting trousers that stretch and contract around her thighs as she bends over to pour us both some tea. 

I take a seat and thank her for the beverage. She tosses me a smile before dropping onto her seat with a huff, an action that enunciates her youthful properties bouncing within a clean brown and white embroidered shirt.

"Oh!" She gasps, "Where are my manners? I am Maylin, the proprietor of this place and mother to the troublesome two you met outside." She has her hand out for a handshake and a quirky smile on her face.

She's their mother…

Keeping myself from going slack jawed and offending my host, I reach out for the handshake and as soon as our skin touches my hand feels like it's lost all feeling and hers is greeted with a small jolt of static electricity.

"Ouch. Must be the weather." She laughs.

But it's not.

In that split instant I realize something. This tingling, I'm reacting to the mass and densely packed mana rolling off her body.

"You're a free elf?" for the second time in two days I blurt out something that makes all joy, mirth and peace wash off an elf's face.

With her face stiff and her eyes trained solely on me she snaps her fingers and commands, "Merlara, leave."

The girl, her daughter eeps at the tone and quickly scurries off, leaving me and her mother stuck in this rather awkward staring match.

"So, the Synagogue is here at last." She mutters woefully. "I knew this day would come. I'll go in freely if you let my daughter Kaylin escape, this is a good offer…don't say no." her eyes narrow at me dangerously, her words, her grim tone; she's more than certain she can take on whoever she thinks I am.

"So, Kaylin is free too…but not Merlara?"

Her lips thin into a frown, she bites down on them for a moment before confessing, "Merlara is my first daughter, I knew what needed to be done for her safety and I did it. Kaylin…I couldn't bring myself to do that to my own child a second time." 

"Spare her," she pleads, "Throw her out to the oceans and take me while you can, Priest."

Slowly, the hairs on my head begin to frizz up, floating into the air as this woman, this mother prepares her magic to protect her child.

She's certainly powerful, far more than Perlman or Leriva.

Her eyes begin to take on a dim glow and the ground rumbles as she speaks, "What is your answer?"

In an odd turn, I find myself deathly calm, too calm for the current predicament where one wrong word can land me in the grave.

Maylin is most certainly one of the vaunted A or even S-rank Mages. I've never met one but if Perlman and Leriva are any standard for B-ranks then I wouldn't survive long enough to bullshit a way to escape her powers.

"I was told this is where I can get a citizenship?" My voice is calm and soft, almost inaudible with all the rumbling and streaks of electricity flowing off of her hair and body.

But she hears me clearly because her eyes stop glowing and her battle-ready pose relaxes into a mildly confused one.

"I'm sorry?"

***

The proprietor finds herself in a rather embarrassing situation. She sits back with her face flushed in red as she hears me explain that I've simply come for a registration.

"I can see why you'd assume I was a Priest from the Synagogue though, so don't be too embarrassed." I have a laugh at her expense while sipping tea from a fine porcelain cup.

"They're the only ones who could possibly figure me out. They'd have done a deep dive, investigating and planning over months. Even though today isn't the day I get caught under their noses, I fully expect it to come." She says, rubbing her palms on her trousers.

"And Kaylin?"

Tilting her head she asks, "What about her?"

"You're prepared and expectant of the Synagogue knocking on your door, is she?" I ask mostly to make light conversation but also because the girl seemed…air-headed.

"Well, I've been training her in magic for over fifty years now." I nearly choke on my tea.

"Ack! Fifty years, really?"

She puts on a knowing smile, "Ah yes, you're human, time moves faster for you." She almost sounds sad saying it.

"Ah, yes. Unfortunately, the gods don't smile on us with longevity." I'm curt as I set down my tea cup, I've had enough I think.

She exhales deeply through her nostrils and sips from her cup, letting the quiet sit as she contemplates something.

"You haven't explained how you knew though," she says, pulling her pointy ear out of the mess of white covering it, "Did someone tell you?" she hums and then shakes her head, "No, no one else knows. And Kaylin is old enough to process the consequences of a babbling tongue."

"I just knew." I shrug, "I met Kaylin out there and the tingling that happens whenever I'm close to an elf was stronger than before, then I met you and my hand went numb just trying to shake yours."

At this she looks pleasantly surprised, "You're highly sensitive to mana, Illusion magic and Enchantments will be fruitless against you." She snorts, rubbing her thumb over the teacup in her hands and speaks wistfully, "It's Mages like you that helped subjugate the Elven race on this continent, in this Kingdom, I'm guessing you practice Divination?"

"Divination no." I answer curtly. Absorbing her words carefully. 

"It'd be a good fit for you. I practice evocation, electric attacks are my main, I use it so often my mana passively converts into it. That should explain why your hand went numb."

I nod, understanding a bit. If I were to guess, I'd say the high sensitivity comes from Pluzur the Eternal flame, the previous occupant of this body. Barring that then it could only be the System's doing; it guides my spells and helps me understand them if I listen and watch closely, but even if I don't, they remain just as effective. 

This minimal effort spell casting could only be the work of the System.

"Perhaps I'll try it later, once I've achieved the longevity to practice and master two types of magic."

She raises an eyebrow at this, still looking very pleased. Then she huffs, "Well I guess there's no hiding it. And I've mastered two types of magic, Hydromancy works well with Electromancy when healing."

No doubt it does. Even I know that water innately has healing properties but electricity? Well, I'm not so sure about that but I nod my head anyway and move on to business, "Now about that citizenship."

"Right, of course." She chuckles sheepishly. Setting her cup on the table she reaches down and pops open a floor board at her feet, shuffling a bit in it with her hands she returns with an orb. A different looking orb than the one I saw at the gate.

Instead of crystalline it's matte black with several inscriptions on its body surrounding the purple gem embedded in it.

Maylin summons mana and begins to infuse the orb with it, her blue mana is thin and quick to form symbols above and below the orb until it floats right of her hand, entranced at the process I barely take note that it takes several minutes to complete.

"Mafiel right?"

"Huh?" I blurt. 

"You want a seal of an Aiel," confusion must be written all over my face because she smiles an explains, "Aiels are what we call people from Mafiel, you'd better get used to it."

"Right, let's do that."

She smirks slyly at me and demands my arm, "Brace yourself, this will sting, a lot."

The things I do to- "Ow!"