House of Hunters

Chapter 1 - Ceremonies and Crows

The lights in the ballroom twinkle like stars in the sky. If you look hard enough, perhaps you'll see a fairy hard at work, sprinkling dust over the copper wires to illuminate them. As the dust settles over the little lights, the surrounding air is filled with the sweet scent of loganberries and honeysuckle. The faint fluttering of wings create a low hum as the fairies move around the wire and supply it with dust.

The sweet melody of a lone piano dots out over the floor like splattering rain in a rhythm I'm not familiar with. From across the room, the piano's player breathes life into the rich dark mahogany of the piano with a twist of his wrist and flick of his fingers. Magic swirls in little wisps around him.

It's clear he's casted an enchantment spell. 

Below me is a twirling charade of dancers. They dance in pairs, in delightfully coloured gowns of purple, blue and green. The men appear in dark red velvet suits, as though they have no individuality. They glide effortlessly over the floor, twirling the women as they go.

Like an ocean wave rolling into the beach, they flow in and out across the polished floorboards.

Surrounding them, graduated mages congregate, dawning in brightly coloured gowns and suits. The yearlings are not allowed to attend an event such as this until their graduation year. It would ruin the magic for them. 

The head mage, Maria, looks out over the dancers from beside the piano. She looks content and powerful in a magnificent dark green gown that compliments her figure. It's dawned with gold embroidery that catches the light when she moves and it compliments her coppery hair which is pulled back into a tight bun and dawned with a jewelled clip.

Above the mages, the walls look down upon them, watchfully. They are painted in a light blue that reminds me of the sky on a hot summer's day. The roof edgings are decorated in pure gold and form a leaf-like pattern across the roof.   

The windows that pepper the hall tell the story of the first wizard to bond with a Strix in a magnificent stained glass appearance that sprinkles the light like a prism across the room. There are eight in total and it depicts the mage Morpheus and his Strix, Hades. 

It's a famous story that every mage in the building knows by heart. It's the first lesson we learn when we come here. Unlike the grand Bonding Ceremony of today's world, Morpheus found an injured Strix, cradling the wounded creature in his arms. The Strix is illustrated to have let out a soft, pained cry. Morpheus, his hands glowing with arcane energy, whispered incantations in a long-forgotten language as he worked to heal the creature's injuries. The Strix's cries subsided, replaced by a sense of calm as the magic wove its way through its broken wing. As the last of the healing energy flowed from Morpheus to the Strix, a brilliant light filled the room, casting shadows that danced across the walls. A bond was forged between mage and creature that would literally change the course of mage history forever.

The windows don't hold the same fascination as they once did. It's not uncommon for a mage not to be partnered with Strix. It just means we're destined to live out our lives within the Palace walls. Our magic is just as powerful, but without our other soul we become lost. The Palace at least prevents that. 

Where I stand above the dancers, there is a large staircase, dawned in a rich red carpet with gold leaf edging, that supports a balcony. It is on this rather non-remarkable balcony, that I lean against the railing and watch the swirling spirals below. A glass of peach punch sits snugly in my hand. 

The sight of so much colour disgusts me to a degree that every other mage would call me ridiculous for. But I can't help it. Being unbonded makes me cringe every time the word Strix is mentioned. 

A drum beat rings out, making the room vibrate.

"Tonight," Maria bellows, making everyone's head turn towards her. "We celebrate the next generation of mages! Tonight, they bond with their other souls."