Hope

The address would lead Irwyn much further into the center of Abonisle. When he had asked for directions at the reception of his hotel they immediately recognized where he was headed and even looked at Irwyn much more seriously afterwards. He was not sure if that was a good or a bad sign. The directions given to him were also… confusing, though he was told they would make sense when he saw the innermost districts.

The buildings around him kept growing taller and taller as he approached the 3 massive spires. He went straight down a long and wide road bustling with traffic until he found the landmark described in the directions given: There, at one point, the massive buildings suddenly ended with a good long stretch of completely open ground, followed by a moat and a tall wall, enchanted to the Void and back. It was also perhaps the tallest wall Irwyn had ever seen, which made it all the more fascinating that it was invisible from outside the city, covered completely by the thick and tall buildings.

A wide bridge led over the moat leading to a wide-open gate. There was no checkpoint or really any sort of security and the traffic moved through undisrupted. Walking over to the other side, Irwyn realized that the moat was actually just as deep as the abyss around the island city, all light eventually succumbing to the seemingly bottomless blackness. A glance down revealed dozens of wide exits from the sewer system, someone currently dumping trash into the bottomless abyss below.

Past the gate there was another open plane, though not another moat. And the buildings beyond that were even a notch taller than the ones before. That was the smallest change, however, as it was no longer just the buildings divided into floors. He could see, while approaching, that there were several street layers, stacked up on top of each other with maybe 20-meter gaps, the floors obscured from the natural sun had magical lights installed instead. Everything was seemingly built into a massive rectangle, upper floors of the buildings connected by street layers of their own. And all of that completely soaked in magic, probably just to keep it standing.

The directions he got led him ‘to the very top floor right by the gate’. Thankfully the wide street right after the gate had multiple expansive elevators constantly going up and down on a simple rotation which spared Irwyn the no doubt countless stairs, even though he barely fit with the extensive traffic; it was almost strange how many people were moving around considering there were so few entering or leaving the city as far as he had seen upon his own arrival. When he reached the top street layer, after several minutes and over a dozen stops, Irwyn realised it barely looked urban. There were actual trees and gardens and the building were not stacked right next to each other like in the streets below, having that spacious feeling of high-class districts he knew even from Ebon Respite. The area was almost screaming privilege at a glance.

Though, being on the top floor and near the edge of the construction also allowed him to take a good look both down and up. He went to the handrails by the edge of this floor and beneath him were perhaps hundreds of meters of steep fall down onto the empty field behind the open gate, he could easily see all the way to the massive bridges and even beyond. When turned around it became obvious the city went even taller: Within walking distance, he could see another higher street layer springing up. And then further another several until they were so far away and high enough that he could no longer distinguish if there were any more. And beyond all that were the 3 massive spires, towering far above everything even from his current height.

No matter what else his impressions were, Abonisle was truly an achievement of architecture.

The address he had been invited to seemed to be an exceptionally high-class restaurant, to the point Irwyn was pretty sure they would not have even let him in without the suit, located close to the edge and elevators. As soon as he entered he noticed there was a dedicated greeter and if that was not a sign of how rich the place was, the layers upon layers of enchantments on every surface were even more of a dead giveaway. Among their undoubtedly many effects, Irwyn realised that his ability to sense magic was unable to pass an inch through any surface, including the doors. He had not run into any such enchantment in the past but just knowing they existed opened his eyes to an extent. He wondered if that shadow who had accompanied Alira used something working on similar principles or if that had been just sheer control over their own magic.

He approached to inquire about his meeting though that seemed unnecessary as the greeter took one look at him, immediately recognised him, bowed uncomfortably deep, and beckoned for a waiter already waiting behind a corner to lead him to a private room, even opening the door for him.

Inside there was an entry hallway he had to pass through first as the door snapped shut behind Irwyn and he realised he was completely cut off from the rest of the world beyond the room itself, the same enchantments blocking all perception. Since he had already walked inside it was too late to worry about an ambush so he focused on the room itself. He did not feel anything magical at first beyond the enchanted walls and furniture so he was slightly surprised when he walked into the main part of the room and found a person seated there, facing him from behind an oaken table.

There sat a raven-haired girl not any older than him who was, Irwyn had to admit, almost uncannily beautiful. It was because Irwyn never cared much for superficial appearances that he was able to quickly realise the feeling was caused by her visage being far too perfectly symmetrical and too… well flawless. To the point, it seemed almost unnatural.

“Good afternoon Irwyn,” she greeted with a polite smile, all formal. “Please take a seat. We have much to discuss.”

“Good afternoon,” Irwyn mirrored the greeting and sat down, taking in more of the room after shaking the distraction of the person. It looked almost simple at first glance: An aquarium in the wall, wooden furniture with small decorations and a window view. Except the aquarium held a noticeably magical black fish Irwyn had never even heard of, the furniture was enchanted to the point it felt excessive and the window had the perfect view of seeing part of the top floor layer as well as the drop leading down to the rest of Abonisle; Irwyn could see all the way to the black abyss surrounding the city as well as the hills in the distance.

It was a different kind of riches than the overt opulence he had observed so far he supposed. Even the girl, or perhaps woman, seemed to dress almost humbly in a conservative black dress which Irwyn could not feel a speck of magic from. Which raised all kinds of alarm bells because it seemed more likely to him that it was enchanted so well that it hid its magic perfectly rather than not being enchanted at all.

She was also staring at him, rather intently.

“Please, order anything you wish at my expense,” she said, though there was not really a menu to browse, or any indication where he should figure out what dishes such a place offered. “I find it best to discuss such things over cuisine.”

“Do you have a recommendation, your ladyship?” he asked. She still had not introduced herself, putting herself immediately in a superior position. Not that Irwyn had any intention or the means to deny her that much.

“For you perhaps attuned steak would not go amiss,” she put a finger to her lips as if in thought. Of course, Irwyn had no doubt she had planned this much well ahead. “I assure you that the chefs are more than capable of preparing exotic ingredients.”

“Then I will follow your recommendation,” Irwyn nodded and she smiled. Of course, Irwyn knew better than to let a pretty face distract him from the matter at hand, not that he was particularly vulnerable to that in the first place.

“Excellent,” she nodded and reached for one of the decorations laid out on the table: A pond with many small crystalline pebbles. Except, as Irwyn now noticed, the pebbles were each enchanted individually rather than being part of the greater arrays in place, each a communication crystal of some sort if he understood it correctly. “Please, if you would bring us Ebonmaw risotto and Sunmonger steak,” she spoke into the stone and then put it down before proceeding to stare Irwyn down again with a smile. As seconds passed it became clear she had no intention of speaking. Another tactic, Irwyn realised, putting pressure on him until he spoke, which he would. They had done the same when interrogating Alira after all.

“Abonisle is quite the fascinating city,” Irwyn glanced out the window at the view, unsure what else to speak about. It had been made apparent that his counterpart wanted to wait for the meal before delving into serious topics. “I have read some books mentioning the connection to the Void, yet nothing about the unique architecture.”

“Perhaps they were merely outdated,” she suggested. “Abonisle has changed beyond recognition in the last 2 decades. I still remember when the first Great Spire was erected almost 10 years ago,” and it also implied that she had grown up around here, likely meaning to tell Irwyn it was her family’s base of power. “The unique architecture and amenities are actually inspired by great cities outside the Duchy Federation. Her Ladyship Avys von Blackburg, after her husband took his throne, has invested greatly into it. Taken by the idea of reproducing architectural achievements and innovations of her less magically capable homeland with the expertise of mages, going as far as to invite dozens of exceptional engineers to participate in the city’s reconstruction. She has even mused in private that Abonisle has, through that cooperation, surpassed those great cities it had been inspired by.”

“I will admit it is a breathtaking sight,” Irwyn praised, because it was true and judging by her smile it would not go amiss, while he chewed on the implications. Her Ladyship Avys has mused in private, he had just been told. In other words, this girl, or someone very close to her, were the kind of people to find themselves in a private setting with the Duchess herself. Irwyn supposed that much was to be expected, considering that whoever she represented were willing to oppose a branch of house Blackburg for very little immediate gain, if only secretly. They were likely another rival branch or a particularly powerful lesser noble house; Irwyn’s understanding of noble politics in the Duchy of Black was rather shallow though.

“You should witness the view from the top of the three spires,” she replied, glancing out of the window. “You can see all the way to the mountains at Federation’s Northern border, well, when the snowstorms are not too bad on occasion.”

“Perhaps if I have the opportunity,” Irwyn allowed. Perhaps it was… a warning not to run away? Indirect promise to bring him up there for some reason? Irwyn honestly was not sure what the point of that sentence had been. Then there had been another few seconds of silence, though just as Irwyn was about to speak again he felt magic gathering. It was relatively subtle and if he was not extra on guard after the surprise with the speaking stones he would have likely not noticed it in the overwhelming ambient magic.

The next moment space shifted and two dishes appeared on the table, Irwyn barely suppressed a wince and an actively glowing pre-cut steak with a side of bright yellow maybe-tomato slices, crimson red small carrot bits that were actively burning and potatoes that were covered in small white specs that Irwyn was relatively sure were not just salt. And the entire damn dish was packed with magic, of Fire, Light and the steak actually had something close to Starfire.

His hostess, as Irwyn noted while trying to hide his surprise, instead had a sort of rice dish with pieces of something; it was difficult to tell what because literally everything in the culinary piece was pitch black and would probably appear burned if it wasn’t actively inundated in Void magic, and a speck of fire too if Irwyn could feel correctly.

“This is… quite extraordinary,” Irwyn admitted, at a loss for words. He had no idea how expensive even ingredients would be, however, he assumed the answer was counted in multiples of the average annual income.

“Please enjoy it,” she nodded, seemingly satisfied by the reaction. “I understand that attuned cuisine is difficult to acquire for most people,” and that Irwyn had just learned for the first time what the term for this kind of dish was summed up the ‘difficulty’ pretty well in his own opinion.

“I will do so, your ladyship,” Irwyn politely said. The address was basically a sure guess unless there were even better-suited words for her position. He would not believe the Old Crow if he told her this girl was not high, high nobility.

“Please, call me by my name, Irwyn,” she said as she manifested chopsticks of pure void magic to dig into her dish. Pretending to not realise the issue with her instruction.

“I would love to, though I am afraid you have not shared yours as of yet, your ladyship,” Irwyn said as politely as possible. He was, once again not exactly sure what the point of it was, which was why he observed her reaction very closely, fishing for clues as she stopped.

And that half-hidden flicker of confusion quickly turning into panic in her eyes baffled Irwyn. Because she tried to hide it, but not perfectly. Like someone who had been taught to hide all the clues but had not quite completely mastered that skill. Which was so much harder to feign, not to mention that it would require a deep understanding of how closely Irwyn had been trained to read clues like these if it was meant to be a deception. So, in other words, either the girl opposite to him was one of the best actors he had ever met despite being only Irwyn's age while she also simultaneously had a perfect enough understanding of Irwyn on the first meeting to handcraft layers upon layers of deception;

Or she was genuinely panicking about forgetting to introduce herself.

“Indeed,” she said and Irwyn could see the exact moment she calmed herself and tried to play the mistake off. “My name is Elizabeth. Please enjoy the dish,” she said before she quickly dug into it to calm herself down, using those chopsticks of void magic she still held.

Irwyn might have been reading far too much into the whole conversation.

Now, there was definitely a reason why it was a young blatantly noble girl his own age meeting him, rather than an elder or a clandestine subordinate. A young caster, there was no doubt after the chopsticks she manifested, who could perfectly hide her magic from Irwyn despite appearing no older than him; something only Desir had done to him as far as Irwyn knew, though that was a small sample size and there could be other factors at play. It would still not do to completely drop his guard but perhaps it would be for the best to reconsider reading into every word she said as though there were subtle messages or manipulations.

That being said, Irwyn could muse while he dug into his own food. The dish, although teleported here, came with no cutlery so Irwyn followed suit and created a fork and knife of solid Light. He took a first bite of the precut steak and nearly fell out of his chair.

It was not merely exceptional. It was a self-contained experience that stimulated more than just taste buds. Shivers went down his spine as he felt connected to the food for the lack of a better word, a bit like he did with his own magic. That gave it a feeling of incredible intimacy as he chewed and swallowed, resulting in something that transcended just taste. Needless to say, Irwyn could barely hold himself back enough to eat the dish politely rather than gobble it down. And it was gone all too soon.

“It seemed to be up to your tastes,” Elizabeth seemed to have calmed down and was beaming, having finished her own dish. Irwyn was still considering whether to believe it was genuine. Smiles were almost the first thing he himself had been taught to fake after all.

“I will admit, this has been the best cuisine I have ever experienced by such a large margin it is barely a comparison at all,” going with high and true praise seemed to be working so far. And although it felt a bit unfair towards Narcinia who was a great cook as far as he was concerned, the dish had been in a different league entirely. For the first time in a while, Irwyn felt the itch of jealousy at someone who could experience that often enough to not think much if it, though he quickly suppressed it.

“Is that so?” Elizabeth’s brows seemed to rise in surprise. Irwyn had to evaluate whether that was fake or whether it just never occurred to her most people were not used to something like this. He was leaning towards the latter. “We can order dessert later, though now we should perhaps get down to business.”

“I am told you understand my situation,” Irwyn nodded.

“I have been told much about you,” Elizabeth nodded. “For once I would like to see. Do not take this harshly, however, you have powerful enemies and my family’s support will depend greatly on what they may gain in return.”

“Of course, that is only natural,” Irwyn nodded. He had expected he would have to put himself into debt of some sort in order to survive. That was only natural after all, give and take was all the fairness anyone had any right to expect. He himself would not take risks for a stranger with nothing tangible to gain. “What is it you wish me to do to prove my worth then, Elizabeth.”

“Show me,” she stared at him and he was sure he saw excitement glimmer behind her eyes and the smile. “I was told that you wield the very fire of Stars. That you command magic with the skill of a virtuoso and imbue your will into it with a simple thought. So show me.”

And so Irwyn did. He nodded and spun his magic with every intention to impress. He wove it into a thousand strings as thin as hair as they interlaced and half merged, he allowed them to shift and form into the head of a sunflower. As for the intention, well, he meant it to impress and impress it did. In a single second a beautiful flower sat on the table. It was nothing perfect nor permanent - he had to keep feeding it with magic just so it would not dissipate - but Irwyn thought it was a good showing.

Elizabeth glanced at it and her smile deepened. Then to his surprise, magic rose from her as well. Just like his own it erupted, though into black laces. Except they were not just Void. It also burned with the heat he was oh so familiar with. For that was more than just Umbra’s magic. Much like his own, it was a merger of two. Voidflame his mind almost whispered with excited urgency, distracting him. And by the time he regained composure a second flower stood opposite to his own. An ebony lily, its spread petals gently burning at the edges with pitch black blaze. And he felt that from within it demanded his attention.

“In that case, let us discuss terms,” Elizabeth was still smiling, excitement burning in her stare. Irwyn decided it was genuine.