"Do I just walk in?" Alarion asked, fingers hovering just over the silver inlay of the door's exterior.

"Correct. You have three weeks of rations, but please do not overstay your welcome unless you are on the cusp of completing a challenge." Elena's expression was mixed. There was pride, uncertainty, and, above all, concern. "Do not make rash choices. The dungeons will have a guide. Listen to them. Take their advice and be sure to ask questions if you are not certain."

"You cannot offer any more specific advice?"

Elena shook her head. "The dungeons function similarly to my Void Trap. Once you leave, your memory of the challenges will become vague, and any notes or records you make will be corrupted. You will keep experience, items, skills, and practical knowledge you obtain, but you will not remember the specifics of the challenge."

"Mm," the boy grunted. Then he reached for the two dark metal rings and gave the doors a pull. They parted so easily, it was as if they wanted to be opened. As if they were inviting him in. A blinding white light filled the chamber, and Alarion squinted against it, trying to make out something in that void, to no avail.

He looked back at Elena, who nodded and gestured him forward. Alarion took two steps forward and was suddenly… elsewhere.

Alarion found himself in a large, well-appointed study. The air smelled of old books, of almond and vanilla, of burnt candles and well-aged leather. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves covered almost every inch of wall space, save for the crackling stone fireplace and a trio of doors on the room's far end. Two comfortable-looking chairs sat before an enormous oak desk, upon which sat the room's only other occupant.

She was an older woman, at least twice his age if Alarion had to guess, and beautiful beyond measure. Her hair was white as his own, her eyes golden as the wreath she wore atop her intricate curls and the necklace hanging between her curves. Her outfit was regal, but not chaste, flaunting pale skin either out in the open or beneath an intricate lace of black and gold. She was petite, shorter than him were she standing. But sitting cross-legged on the edge of that four-foot-tall desk, she towered over him, looking down in a way that provoked authority from her and irritation from him in nearly equal measure.

She'd noticed him the same moment he saw her, and a thin smile emerged on full, gold-painted lips. "House or Imperator?"

"What?"

A coin flashed in her left hand by way of answer, the silver glinting in the firelight as she rolled it effortlessly across the knuckles of her left hand until it reached her thumb. She tucked that last digit beneath and sent the coin spiraling toward the high ceiling. "Quickly now."

"Uh…. House?"

The woman snatched the coin out of the air with the speed of a striking snake and set it down on the desktop beneath two slender fingers. She looked at the coin, then back at him. "I'll give you three questions. Do you wish to change your guess? Now is the time. I haven't peeked."

"Should I?"

"Yes. Most definitely," the woman admitted with a sly grin. "Two questions. Do you wish to change?"

"Can you feel which side is up?"

"Yes. One question."

Alarion studied the woman for several seconds as he considered his third question. A few options flitted through his mind, but an old memory dominated them. He'd seen something like this before.

"Which side of the coin is the correct answer?"

This time, her grin was wide, spread ear to ear with delight, as the woman lifted her fingers from the coin to show a Vitrian house sigil on the upward-facing side. "Few people make that guess. How did you figure it out?"

"I have seen it before. Or a version of it." The boy shrugged modestly. "A family I stayed with used to scam people with a ball and some cups, doing something similar. They would ask you to pick one, but did not set the rules in advance. If you guessed right, then that was the one you were discarding. If you guessed wrong, that was the one you picked."

"It is the illusion of choice," she said, still grinning, "something to keep in mind."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"What would have happened if I answered wrong?"

"Nothing," the woman admitted, "but your success means you've caught my interest."

Alarion's brows raised. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad. "Elena said there would be a guide. Is that you?"

The woman tilted her head, as if seeing a different side of him.

"I am your guide, yes. My name is Valentina Lyons." When the name clearly rang hollow with the young man, she added, "I was an incarnation of Lal Viren."

That, at least, got the more traditional response. Alarion looked at the woman dumbly, as if not understanding. Then he did something, a gesture halfway between bowing and kneeling, as though he could not decide which to do. The result had him half bent over, standing on one leg with the other bent up beneath him, looking for all the world like the worst possible impression of a chicken.

"Oh. Oh no, that is just… please." Valentina waved him upright with her hand for fear of being caught up in the secondhand embarrassment. "We can dispense with formalities."

"You are a god," Alarion protested even as he obeyed her request.

"I was," she smiled. "And sort of still am. It is complicated. While we're here, Valentina is fine. Val is even better. My time in the sun is long over, and I'm happy for the chance to be normal."

Alarion studied the woman more closely, recalling what Elena had said about the mothers and their incarnations. "Are you still alive? Are you an emulation?"

"How do you-" Valentina's voice was sharp, with surprise more than anger, as she was seemingly cut off in mid-sentence. "I know. I know! It's fine. No, I am not an emulation, and I'm not allowed to talk about that."

"Not allowed to?"

The woman met his eyes with a pointed stare.

After a few breaths, Alarion noticed her body language and asked, "Does that count as talking about it?"

The look continued with the addition of an almost imperceptible nod.

"I am Alarion," the boy said, instead of pushing the subject. He offered the back of his hand in a Vitrian greeting, only to have her catch it within her smooth palm instead. "It is nice to meet you."

"No need to be formal," she said as she shook his hand. "Again, I'm Val and welcome you to my lessons. Do you want to get started immediately? Or do you need to rest first?"

"I am ready to start now," said Alarion, though his eyes were narrowed. They'd started already, hadn't they? Was this another word game? Or just a poor turn of phrase. "I do not want to be rude, but I only have a couple of weeks to get as far as possible."

Valentina raised a carefully sculpted eyebrow. "You're entering a challenge dungeon in a rush? That is certainly a decision. But very well, step into the circle on the floor."

Alarion turned his head, about to ask what she meant, when he saw it. The once pristine wooden floor was now marked with crimson sigils that spanned out in eight directions, similar to the diagram he'd been shown of the various magical affinities. No, not just similar to. This one was more complex, with a hundred arcane characters etched in at different intervals, but the core of it was identical to the diagram he'd been shown.

He was also certain it hadn't been there when he entered the room. Even with Valentina distracting him, the complex diagram would have been impossible to miss.

"Well? I thought you were in a hurry."

"Is it safe?" Alarion asked skeptically.

"A smart question, but yes. Nothing in my chambers will harm you directly. However, I will not be held responsible if you somehow hurt yourself. Stupidity is outside the realm of even a god."

"Which you say you are not anymore?"

"It is complicated."

"You do not seem like a god."

"That is complicated as well." The woman slid from the desk and landed on the floor with a soft thud. "I give you my word that any risk of death or serious injury will be signposted. I'll explain how it works, but first…"

She gestured once again to the circle, and with no reason to refuse her, Alarion stepped inside.

He felt a pulse pass over him, the hair on his arms standing at sudden attention for a follow-up that never came. Instead, the woman outside made a few short gestures. She stared into the empty air, her face scrunched up at something only she could see. Then she motioned again, and the crimson letters on the floor scattered, then reassembled in an even more complex pattern.

She gestured again, and Alarion felt like he'd fallen into an ocean of mana. It flowed through and around him, a calm but unsettling sensation that lasted only a few seconds. Then, with another wave, the circle unravelled into nothing.

"Two-hundred and thirty-eight?" she asked, eliciting a nod from Alarion. Valentina looked about to say more when she turned her head upward. "Yes. No. Yes, I am sure. I- ugh. Alarion, you are a boy, yes?"

"Yes?" Alarion responded, so befuddled by the question that his answer sounded skeptical. "What is-"

"It's fine," she waved away his concern as she ushered him back toward her desk, still reading over what must be system menus in her field of view. "Customizing the first rooms to your skill set will take a moment. Your status is… eclectic."

"I do not-"

"Weird," she clarified. "Your status is weird. I've never heard of an Orphan before, and that luck of yours might be a problem with balancing, though the main issue will be your flaw. The lesson plan is tuned toward more traditional mages, so I just have to- there, that should do it."

In the corner of his vision, the three doors on the room's far end flickered. It was as if they vanished and reappeared in a single blink.

The original doors were featureless, simple wooden portals set into matching frames. These new ones were similar, but each had a large marking carved into it at eye level. The one on the left had two crossed swords behind a skull, the middle a keyhole amidst a spiraling maze, and the last was an arcane symbol set against a background of flames. Beneath each lay three dull red diamond-shaped gems, each as large as his fist.

"Combat, Puzzle, and Magic. A fine first set." Valentina smiled. "Let me explain how this works, then you can decide where you want to start."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.