Ch. 2: True Purity

As the Black Manes stood there, their harrowing gaze resting upon the sea of white, my heart jumped into my throat. “I have to get out of here,” I panted.

But as I whipped around, I heard someone’s deep gruff bark, directed at me. “Hey, YOU! Get back in line!”

I turned sheepishly and decided to play along. Maybe if I acted like I belonged here, perhaps nobody would notice. And since I was in the male section, I’d better play the part.

I ripped out some of my white mane and curled it around my tail, mimicking how the males had a ring of fur around the tips of their tails. Then I held my head up high, puffed out my chest, and marched over to Arius’ line.

I took my place beside him and stared straight ahead, looking at the line of females across from us. Hopefully they didn’t recognize me.

Apparently they did, as did Arius and Strubin beside me. So much for being literally the only albino in all of Aetyria.

Arius glared at me, then his eyes widened in fear. “AVEN! WHAT IN THE LIVING GREEN HECKLAND OF AETYRIA  ARE YOU DOING?!” He hissed angrily under his hot breath.

I continued staring straight ahead, keeping a painful grin on my stupid white face. “I got shut in,” I whispered hastily without moving my lips. “Just play along. Hopefully they’ll just kick me out for not having magic. And use He/Him, would ‘ya?”

Strubin was quiet, though he had the same shocked look on his face. He looked a little confused after I spoke, so he glanced over at my tail and stifled a gasp.

“Aven?”

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. “Whazzup?”

“I didn’t know your special power was being genderfluid!”

My face turned red. “That’s NOT it!” I hissed. “Dummy! I’m still a girl. I’m just… roleplaying. Just keep your trap shut, alright? I don’t feel like getting exiled today.”

Strubin slumped his shoulders but kept quiet after that. A loud boom echoed through the courtyard, then the place became eerily silent. You could hear a pin drop from the far side of the courtyard.

“Will the first line of males line up at the front?”

I nearly choked and Arius looked like a kernel about to turn into popcorn. Strubin looked like he was about to pass out, but he glanced at me sheepishly.

“Well, good luck.”

I blinked at him in acknowledgement, then followed Arius and the rest of our line up to the stairs of the courthouse, where the Black Manes stood intimidatingly.

One of the Black Manes, a tall, thin purple aetyr with silver eyes and a steel glare came to the first of the line, a checkbook in hand. He examined the aetyr closely, and I strained my ears to hear what he was saying.

“Your name?” He asked. His voice was almost like a strung-out whine.

The first aetyr, an average-sized cream male, cleared his throat uncertainly.

“Obin Alvixeor, sir.”

“And your birth magic?”

“...It’s… size manipulation, sir.”

The Black Mane looked at him dubiously. “Let’s see it.”

Obin nodded and took a breath, then closed his eyes. His white mane shone brightly and suddenly he began to grow. Really, REALLY fast.

Within a few moments he was towering over us, about half the height of the courthouse and large enough to easily step over the courtyard walls.

The Black Mane looked up at him, but he didn’t seem too impressed. Rather, he looked like he had just seen a small animal lick its no-no zone instead of witnessing someone grow to super-size. 

“...Thank you, Obin. Next, please.”

Obin looked a little disappointed as he shrunk back to his original size but said nothing. The Black Mane then moved on to the next aetyr in line, and I turned to Strubin anxiously.

“Okay, I’m in SERIOUS trouble here. If that dude just watched somebody turn into The Hulk from Build-A-Bear and didn’t even react, imagine how he’ll act if he finds out I have absolutely NO magic! I need to get out of here.”

Strubin shrugged. “Maybe you should just say that your magic is being genderfluid.”

I glared at him. “Like THAT’S useful.”

He shrugged again. “Better that than nothing. Unless you would rather get exiled for the third time in the past year? You know that looks really bad on you as it is.”

I huffed. “Fine, fine. I’ll have fun humiliating myself.”

Then Strubin blinked. “If that doesn’t work, add on the fact that you have really good hearing.”

I glared at him. “That’s just a birth defect, just like the rest of me. I can’t help I have obnoxiously huge ears and look like a little white rat.”

Before he could answer, suddenly the Black Mane appeared and went to take a report from Strubin. “Name?”

Strubin gulped. “Strubin Elvebarin, sir.”

The Black Mane scribbled that in his little checkbook and glared at him. “And what is your birth magic?”

Strubin forced himself to look into the eyes of the Black Mane. “I… I can control and excrete venom. I can also drink poison.”

“Oh, really?” The Black Mane tilted his head. “I wonder how you figured out that last bit, hmm?”

Strubin shrugged sheepishly. “That’s personal business, sir.”

The Black Mane looked him up and down, then motioned for one of the white manes standing with the Black Manes to come over. “Bring the vial of snake’s spit.”

They rushed over with a little vial in hand and gave it to the Black Mane.

The Black Mane examined it closely, then handed it to Strubin. “Let us pray you are not lying.” He whispered mockingly.

I saw a bead of sweat run down his face as Strubin opened the vial and downed the entire thing in one go, then lowered it and gave a heave. “...Strong. Tastes faintly of Cowerrel meat.”

Everyone waited a few minutes, holding their breath and waiting to see if Strubin had lied. Thankfully, and to everyone’s surprise, he did not.

As the crowd cheered, the Black Mane nodded approvingly. “Very useful, I see. Can you detect poison as well?”

Strubin nodded and the crowd gave a roar. “It smells and gives off an aura very much unlike anything else I’ve sensed, sir.”

The Black Mane lifted his head, visibly impressed but trying to hide it. “Very well.”

As Strubin gaze a silent prayer of thanks to the gods, The Black Mane turned to me. “What’s YOUR name?”

I cleared my throat and tried my hardest to deepen my voice. “Avery Elsgard, SIR!”

I heard a few snickers from the back and Strubin hung his head disappointedly. Arius narrowed his eyes but took a new interest in the ground at his feet.

“Avery?” The Black Mane flipped through his checkbook, then gave me a glare. “That’s not on the list. You’ve forgotten to fill out the resume, sir.”

Someone guffawed at the back but was immediately shut up by one of the attendees.

I shrugged sheepishly. “Well, y’know, it’s really hard to keep up with all this… paperwork and stuff when you’re braving the wilds, beyond this little glorified speck of a town we call Gatesborn.”

A few in the crowd gasped but the Black Mane glared at me closer.

“...So, you’re a peppy, perky one, huh? What’s your magic, then, to make you so confident in your skills beyond the village?”

I began sweating hard and my pulse leaped. I glanced over at Strubin. He turned his gaze away, avoiding eye contact.

“Um… I… can change gender and name at will! And I have super hearing.”

The Black Mane stared at me in disbelief. Not the kind of ‘amazement’, no, just the kind you get when you hear someone say something so incredibly stupid that you don’t know how to react.

“...Not a magic skill I’ve heard of,” He said slowly, lowering his thin glasses. “Care to show me more?”

My face turned red. I was unsure of how to go forward with this. “Um… er..” Suddenly I had an idea, and I flipped around and wagged my tail. “See this?” I pointed to the ring of fur at the tip that I had put there with my cotton mane. “I’m a dude, right? Now watch THIS!”

I wagged it furiously and the fur suddenly flew off in all different directions, leaving nothing but my old familiar marbled tail. “Ta-da! I’m a GIRL NOW!”

Surprise, surprise, everyone in the crowd started laughing their tails off, and the Black Mane didn’t seem too pleased.

“My name is AVEN!” I yelled, standing tall as if I was returning victoriously from a dreadful, deadly battle. “THAT’S MY GIRL NAME! WHOOP! WHOOP! KUMBAYA! REEEEE!”

The crowd roared with laughter. As I stood there, letting the hilarity of it all sink in, suddenly someone yanked me from behind.

“Hey, OW! Watch it!” I yelped. The Black Mane glared at me, clearly not finding the whole ordeal humorous in the slightest. He hissed. “What is your REAL magic, peasant?”

“Um. What if I said… I didn’t have any?” I whispered quietly, shrugging my shoulders sheepishly.

The Black Mane’s eyes widened. “That’s a LIE! All Aetyrim have magic!”

I stared at him. “Did you ever see an albino aetyr, too?”

 The Black Mane stood there, confusion filling his face for the first time as he realized that, no, he hadn’t.

I winked. “First time for everything, my dude. Also, looks like I won’t be heading to the Capital Palace anytime soon, so it looks like I’ll just rock and roll on outta here.” I waved a V at the crowd. “Peace out, homies! Thank you, and good night!”

As I turned, however, the Black Mane grabbed the back of my cloak. “Oh, no you don’t,” He growled. “How DARE a disgraceful creature like YOU come into the holy Assessment Ceremony, then treat it like a party of heathens! You deserve capital punishment for this! You little vagabond! Magic-less and pure white freak of nature! Curse of the gods! Demon-spawn! Worm-rat!”

I sweated but tried to keep my composure. “What are ya gonna do? Make me watch a 3 hour long documentary about how to do trigonometry?”

The Black Mane’s eyes burned with fury. “Disgraceful naked rodent! It’s the gallows for you!”

I gulped and my vision started spinning. “Like, for real? But all I did was cause a prank to go wrong, then get stuck in here and ended up improvising. Why do I get the death penalty?!”

Before the Black Mane could respond out of hatred, suddenly someone behind him spoke. “Vrotaz, stop. May I speak to the albino?”

Vrotaz paused, surprised. “Prince Illesior? But I-”

A dark figure pushed past him and lifted his royal blue hood, and I caught my breath. He was jet black, even the rest of his fur being the color of the night sky. His eyes were midnight blue and his mane was darker than anything I had ever seen. He was beautiful.

  

I felt my face grow red as the prince stopped in front of me and eyed me closely.

“...Aven Elsgard, is it?” He asked. I nodded slowly, too stunned to breathe.

He examined me further, then turned to look into my eyes. “You have no magic?”

I nodded again.

He grinned as he stood up, turning to face Vrotaz. “Vrotaz, I’ve already picked this one for the Order of Bookkeeper. Her lack of magic implies that her presence won’t disrupt the patterns of the Spell Book.”

“ILLESIOR, WAIT!” Vrotaz began to panic. “YOU CAN’T JUST PICK A RANDOM WHITE MANE FOR THAT JOB! YOU MUST CONVERSE WITH THE QUEEN MOTHER FIRST!”

Illesior sighed. “You’re quite boring, Vrotaz,” He smirked, ruffling my mane. “Besides, this little cloud suits my fancy. I think she’ll do quite fine at the Capital.” As he turned aside, he pressed his paw to my back and guided me with him. “Continue on with the Assessment Ceremony. Don’t pay any more heed to the albino, mmkay? She’s my pet now.”

I glanced up at him, my face so red that I couldn’t really be considered an albino anymore. “...PET? What’s that supposed to mean?”

He didn’t answer save for a purr of amusement. He guided me to the rest of the Black Manes, while the crowd looked on, amazed. Frankly I couldn’t blame them. This was just as weird to me.

As we stood there, beside the other two Black Manes (presumably advisors), Vrotaz cleared his throat. “...You heard the Crown Prince! Aven Elsgard is most certainly heading to the Capital Palace, by order of the Royal Head of Aetyria! Now, let us move on with the assessments.”

The crowd cheered, and for once in my life I felt a little out of place. I was used to being scolded and frowned upon, partly for my antics and partly for my lack of color. But now that everyone was cheering me on, I didn’t know how to react. 

I looked down at the crowd of people, and my eyes met with Strubin and Arius. Strubin was amazed, and happy for my accidental success, but Arius was quite the opposite. He stood there, sulking angrily, his eyes narrowed with violet indignation. It was like he was saying, You don’t deserve to be up there.

But I ignored him. I looked up to Illesior, and he looked down at me, his blue eyes gleaming with pleasure.

I turned from him, feeling a bit weird, and looked to Vrotaz, who had started to move on with the assessments. “Name?”

Arius growled. “Arius Elsgard, sir.”

Vrotaz’s eyes widened. “Another Elsgard, hm? If you’re anything like your sister up there, you must be at least half as lucky.”

Arius dipped his head, trying to keep any damning words out of his mouth.

“And what is your birth magic? Assuming you have any?” Vrotaz glared at him closer.

Arius hissed. “I do have magic, unlike Little Miss Accident up there.” He snapped in reply.

Before Vrotaz could reply, suddenly the prince next to me rose to his feet angrily. “Keep those words out of your mouth, peasant,” He warned, his tail lashing. “Nobody is permitted to bring words against the albino. Anyone who does from this point on will face punishment. Do I make myself clear?”

Arius’ eyes widened, but since it was the Prince who spoke, and he desperately wanted a job as palace guard badly, he kept his trap shut.

“Now, what is your magic?” Vrotaz asked him.

Arius looked at him. “I can see through walls and use night vision, sir.”

“Interesting,” Vrotaz replied, scribbling in his checkbook. He looked back up and pointed to a crate across from him. “What’s in there?”

Arius glanced at the crate he was pointing to and his eyes suddenly glowed a bright lavender. “Mangoes, sir.”

Vrotaz motioned for one of the nearby attendees to open the crate, and when they did, mangoes came pouring out. Vrotaz looked again at Arius, still impressed but not so much as he had been with Strubin. “Excellent job, Elsgard,” He complimented. “Prince Illesior, which of these aetyrim are heading to the Capital?”

Illesior stood, facing the first line of white mane males. He examined them closely. “Name them off, alongside their respective magic. Then I will choose accordingly.”

Vrotaz nodded, then turned to face the line and opened his checkbook.

“Obin Alvixeor, whose magic is size manipulation.

Ragast Enzahone, whose magic is fur growth manipulation.

Ramonar Indestrum, whose magic is smoke manipulation.

Gipius Minoran, whose magic is the ability to grow horns and claws immediately.

Oras Osoqihr, whose magic is the ability to breathe underwater.

Krokore Sik, whose magic is the ability to turn invisible.

Grudel Idroharis, whose magic is dust manipulation.

Dhanorim Ekron, whose magic is the ability to stick to walls.

Strakius Kodolell, whose magic is the ability to speak to birds and the gift of flight.

Udor Ovataz, whose magic is unbreakable bones and immense invulnerability. 

Strubin Elvebarin, whose magic is poison manipulation and immunity.

And, lastly, Arius Elsgard, whose magic is X-Ray and night vision.”

Prince Illesior nodded after a moment, deep in thought. Finally he spoke.

“Those going on to the Capital are…

RAMONAR!”

A cheer broke out in the crowd, and the short, dusty aetyr looked pleased and surprised.

“GIPIUS!”

Another cheer broke out.

“KROKORE! DHANORIM! UDOR! STRUBIN! AND… ARIUS!”

The crowd went wild with cheers and excitement, the respective aetyrim getting pats on the back by their peers; and even those not selected were ecstatic. It was a good day in Gatesborn, let me tell you.

Arius finally seemed pleased for once, and he looked hopeful as he stared to the sky dreamily, his violet eyes glimmering like tourmaline.

The clouds parted and the sun beamed down, and Illesior flinched beside me. I understood why. My white fur became blinding whenever light was present, and the sun turned me into a walking lighthouse.

I looked away, feeling embarrassed. “My apologies, lord,” I murmured softly.

But Illesior didn’t take any offense to that. Quite the opposite.

He laughed and grabbed my wrist gently, then raised to the air, his face filled with triumph.

”But that’s not all, my fellow Aetyrim!” He declared. “Behold, the final of this line, the rarity among the commoners, a gem of purity! AVEN ELSGARD, THE ALBINO!”

As the crowd roared in appeal, I stood there, dazed and even a little ecstatic. Then I grinned.

Who would have thought that the unluckiest creature in the gene pool would strike so high?