Circle of Six Mages Book One: Yin and Yang

Chapter Two: The Pendant

As Aria walked into her village, Lyla walked through the crumbling gates that were the entrance to hers. She walked through, nodding at the sentry who stood in a makeshift crow's nest, gripping the wall so hard his knuckles turned white.

People sat huddled in the streets, holey blankets wrapped around themselves, trying to sleep as the sun set. Lyla felt the chill setting in as she walked into a rotting house.

The family she shared the house with was in the living room on the moth-eaten sofa. On the chipped and collapsing table next to it sat a black stone pedastal about three inches wide. About an inch above it a three dimentional black diamond floated. It emited noise, and Lyla heard the news blaring through it. It was the only new thing in the room.

"Enjoying the Laselta?" Lyla asked, referring to the stone contraption.

The mother of the other family, Kiela, smiled and nodded. "I'm so glad that the Demons not only required them, but gave every family brand new ones."

Lyla nodded in agreement and headed into the tiny kitchen.On the rusty stove was an even more rusty pot, in which chunks of veggetables floated. Lyla's father cooked them.

"Here," Lyla said, pulling something out of her pocket. "It's from Aria."

Her father nodded and pulled back the plant that kept it fresh, Jita. Inside were bits of chicken: a couple legs, three wings, and some breast meat. He gave a whoop of glee and pulled a bottle of honey off the shelf. He began mixing it with other spices he'd grown himself to make a dinner Lyla was sure would be delicious.

Lyla walked into the living room to listen to the Laselta.

Tests in three days time. It announced, as if everyone didn't already know. For some reason, Gyralinr seems sure that this is the time the Circle will return. Rumors or reality? We'll look at the facts when we come back.

As commercials aimed at rich people came on, Lyla sat in shock. Gyralinr was the Human-Type Demon that had taken over the last king's throne. Why was he so sure that it would be this year that the Circle would return? And what did that mean for her?

And we're back! The Laselta announced. Lyla sat up and listened immediately. We have Interim King Gyralinr here, ready to talk about why he's so sure it'll be this year.

"Why thank you, Tom." A new voice announced. Lyla assumed it was Gyralinr. "I'm prepared to answer any questions you have."

"Well, I'm sure everyone right now is wondering the same thing: why are you so sure it's this year that the Circle will return?"

"Well," he began, and Lyla could already hear the smirk in his voice. Uh oh. This was about to get gruesome. "As a SSSS Class Demon, I'm very sensitive to magical prescences. For almost one thousand years, the magic has been pretty stagnant.

But then, 16 years ago tomorrow, I felt a change. An enormous one. It almost felt as if the elemental goddesses themselves had come to Rashiviio. But it persisted; so I figured that that huge magical prescence must be the Circle. And since other Demons have lost their magical sensitivity, I ramped up the tests; I changed them from every four years to every year. Don't want those six slipping through the cracks."

Lyla felt her stomach drop deeper than Rhieashinn's territory. Tommorow was her birthday. Tomorrow she turned sixteen.

But she couldn't have magic. No. She didn't.

"So,Gyralinr. Are you administering this year's tests any differently?" The Laselta continued.

"A little. Any signs of magic will be personally handled by me. I will teleport there via my own magic, and kill the offender myself."

"Alright, folks, that's all the time we have. We hope you enjoy your next Laselta broadcast." And promptly, the diamond dropped, fitting perfectly in a little groove in the black pedastal.

Lyla sat there in shock. Terror raced through her, but nothing showed on her face. She was blank and stonyfaced as usual.

But inside her, terror reigned. She barely held it together. No one was allowed to see her emotions. The only one she trusted with that was Aria. Not even her father got to see her fear and sadness, or even her happiness. No one.

"I'm going to my room." Lyla deadpaned. She ride from the protesting chair she sat in and climbed the squeaking and groaning stairs. She speed walked to the watercloset she'd claimed as her bedroom and flopped down on her moth-eaten blanket heap that was her bed. She let out a strangled cry of terror into the covers.

She didn't know how long she lay panicking, but her father eventually called her to dinner. Lyla wiped all the emotion off her face before walking downstairs into the kitchen. Five plates and bowls held together by superglue like tree sap sat on the table. The vegetable soup smelled pretty good for being vegetable soup, and the chicken's aroma was actually pretty tempting.

They ate in silence. Finally, when the last plate was clear, Lyla's father cleared his throat.

"I want to wish good luck to you, Lyla. Here." He said, giving her a necklace. "Keep it hidden until the day of the test. It will aid you should you need it. And if you don't, your child may find it useful." He said cryptically.

"Thanks." She said. She took it in her hand. It was warm to the touch. The pendant was glossy and black, yet seemed like a cavernous cave that went on forever. Two small beads rested on either side of the pendant. In one was carved a symbol that meant power. In the other was a symbol that meant protection.

"I'm going to hide this in my room." She told them. Lyla stood to do so, accidentally bumping into Kiela as she did. Immediately, it was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped in her head. She froze, shock showing in her face.

"You okay?" Asked Kiela's son, Maryu.

"Fine." Lyla said shortly, her face emotionless again. She went to her room, prying up a loose floorboard that held all her secret possessions. She dropped it in the hole that only held a few things, but precious thing all the same.

Bedtime came quickly, and Lyla found herself laying in her blankets unable to sleep. She finally crawled over to the floorboard to look at the pendant again.

She stared at it for a few minutes before growing drowsy. She dropped it back in its hole and covered it, finally going to sleep.

Under the floorboard, the pendant nestled up against a glowing ruby gemstone.

So how'd you like it? Or did you like it at all?

Anyway, I'm sure I got more than a few nose wrinkles at the mention of honey and meat. But I was reading about it, and it's actually pretty good. It's because of the chemical compound of the meat and the honey. The honey tenderizes the meat quite a bit.

Anyhooooo.....

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