Laxita's POV

The next day, I made my way to Revati's room to know about the test in detail. Although, I had agreed that I would meet Revati, I was not too pleased about it.

In all the years I've been here, I have hardly ever interacted with her. We have spoken like ten sentences with each other.

She's intimidating, scary and she rarely smiles. There's a scar on her face which extends from her forehead to her left cheek. And no, I am not scared of her looks, it's that permanent scowl on her face which scares me to no extent. The twins told me that she's not actually evil and once you get used to her, you'll be fine. But that's the thing, it's been three years and I am still not used to it. It seems that her scowl deepens when she sees me. I just hope it's my own imagination and she actually doesn't hate me.

I was standing in front of her room for quite some time now and I was debating whether I should go in or just run away. The longer I stood there, the more it triggered my flight responses. I took a deep breath, steeled myself and decided to go in.

I knocked for a few times but there was no response. So, I ventured inside her room.

As soon as I entered her room, I plundered into darkness. It took me a while to adjust my eyesight. Her room was eerie and weird. The entire room was filled with odd looking artifacts and suspicious looking books. I even spotted a few disfigured lanterns scattered on the table and the floors. There was a strange scent in the air which was choking me. Did an actual person live here? Somehow, the room actually matched her personality.

I was examining her room when I heard a voice.

"....how many times do I have to tell you that now's not the right time. Listen to me, you idiot..." Was that Revati? Was she talking to someone? I couldn't see anything as the voice was coming from behind a huge curtain. The room itself was not that big but that curtain was covering almost half of the room.

I parted the curtains to see her. "Revati ji?" She was leaning on a small round table and glaring at something which resembled a communication artifact. Communication artifacts were spherical balls of glass which contained some sort of magical smoke. A mage had to release their powers in the artifact in order to communicate to someone who had a similar artifact on the other side.

Her eyes snapped up at me and she said with a smile, "Ah! Laxita. Please come in." Have I mentioned that she rarely smiles? She has never and I mean never smiled at me. It was creeping me out and I was alone in her room. It was fuelling my flight responses yet again. I should have brought someone with me.

"Are you busy? If you are, I can come later..." And probably bring someone along with me.

"No, I'm not. I was waiting for you. Shobha had mentioned that you wanted to know about the test."

I didn't like her voice. It was scratchy and high-pitched. It was sort of grating on my nerves.

"Why are you standing over there, Laxita? Come, have a seat."

"Yes." She sat on her couch and I took a seat on the opposite couch which was as far away from her as possible.

She crossed one leg over the other. "So, what do you want to know?"

"I wanted to know how they actually conducted the test. I mean what do I have to do for them to measure my power? How does the association decide whether I am an attack mage or a defense mage? How is my level determined?"

"You seem to have a lot of questions."

"Yes, you can say that. I am actually quite nervous about the test."

"There's no need to worry my dear. It's just a few simple steps."

"Could you please explain what they are..."

"Hmmm. So, firstly, you have to demonstrate all the techniques which you have learnt during your training. Bhargav and a few other officials will decide whether you are an attack mage or a defense mage by seeing your proficiency in both types of magic. You see, the power which is dominant, appears more flawlessly in this test.

As for your level. We have an artifact for that. It was created by Devendra's assistant, you see. It's a transparent spherical artifact. You just have to place your hands on it. It changes colours to determine your level. It turns green if you're a low-level mage, blue if you're a medium-level mage and red if you're a high-level mage. Ah! There's one more colour - yellow. Although, nobody has reached that level. Yellow colour depicts an arch mage. Devendra was the only one who could bring out the yellow colour in the artifact. There hasn't been anyone since him."

"Um. That's it?" It seems...simple. Was I scared for nothing?

"Yes, that's it. I heard that you have mastered all the techniques of attack and defense magic. I am sure you'll be a high-level mage. I just can't wait to find out what kind of mage you'll be..."

"...Thank you." I stood up abruptly as I didn't want to extend my welcome. "Thanks for your help. I should leave now."

"Sure. Good luck, girl."

I nodded and turned on my heel to leave. There was something odd about her, I just couldn't place what it was. Also, I didn't want to stay with her any longer. I practically sprinted out from her room.

That evening, I trained with the twins. We were tired from the training so we decided to take a break. We occupied a seat at the corner of the arena. Devika sat on my left and Devansh on my right.

"Don't you think there's something off about Revati?" I wanted to know if it was just me or they too felt something odd about her.

Devika snorted and said, "If by off you mean creepy and weird, then yeah."

"No, I mean...Today, when I went to her room, I heard her talking to someone. Not talking, yelling actually. And when I parted the curtains in her room, I saw that there was some sort of communication artifact on her table. Doesn't that seem odd?"

Devansh scooted closer to me and said, "She's actually weird. Devika and I have caught her talking to herself more than once. Everyone says that she has lost her mind after her brother went missing..."

"Her brother went missing?" Now, that's some new information.

"Devansh, please don't start now," Devika groaned.

"Why? She wants to know it. You want to listen to this story, right sister?" I nodded in response. "See? Now shush. Let me tell her."

Devika grumbled a bit and then quieted down when Devansh began the story. "So, I think it was 20 years or maybe 25? I don't recall clearly..."

"It was 25, you idiot." Devika chimed in.

"Yes, it was 25. Shut up, Devika. I am trying to tell her something." Devika rolled her eyes and Devansh continued,
"About 25 years back, Revati's older brother - Dushan went missing. The association searched for him for weeks but there was no sign of him. In fact, the mages who went in search of him, never returned. The association was forced to call off the search operation as they couldn't risk losing any more mages.

No one says it but every one believes that Dushan was a dark mage. He joined Soma Sangha to spy on us and then left when his business was over. Although, there's no proof but everyone believes that this is true. Interestingly enough, the dark mages reappeared 25 years ago. If I am not wrong, your mother fought one of them back in the day, right?" I nodded because I didn't want to disturb the flow.

"So, during that time, a lot of dark mages were spotted. No wonder that everyone at the association was frantic. Aunt Subhadra was the only one who made it out alive after fighting with a powerful dark mage. It was the reason why you were kept hidden from them, in a different kingdom.

We knew nothing about them. It was almost impossible to fight them at that time. And, I regret to inform you that we still don't know much about them. If they decide to attack us, we don't know how well we will be able to actually fight against them..." Devansh winced at the last statement and Devika tensed. It was true that a grave danger was looming over us.

"So, Revati's with us? I mean if her brother is a supposedly dark mage, then isn't there a chance that she's also one of them?"

It was Devika who spoke this time. "You know, we asked the same question to our father when he told us about this story. Initially everyone was suspicious of her and she was constantly under watch. But as the time passed and she continued to stay here without ever contacting her brother, the suspicions dissolved. Everyone concluded that she's innocent."

"But you know, what if she stayed quiet at that time to get rid of the suspicions and what if she was plotting something now? She has gained everyone's trust."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. Mother made sure that she was trustworthy. Besides, it was never actually confirmed that her brother was actually a dark mage."

If they were that sure, then fine. The association had taken steps to ensure everything. After all, everyone's safety was at stake. I didn't ask for any further information because it was too much to process for a single day.

"I think the break time is over. Let's continue, kids."

"Hey!" They protested in unison. They really hate it when I call them kids.

After that, we continued our training and practice session. There was merely a week left for my test and I had to ace it.

I didn't know how the day went by, we started by early morning and now, it was late afternoon.

"I think we're done. There's no need for you to practice with us. You can do it on your own now, sister!" Devika's voice sounded cheerful.

"So, there's no need for you to look for us tomorrow. You can practice on your own." Devansh added.

"Wait. I know I don't need your help anymore but I still need someone to watch over me. To tell me if I am making any mistakes in the demonstration of my abilities."

"Hate to inform you that but we'll be busy starting tomorrow. A lot of students are giving this test along with you. I think we have to help our father in organising this test."

"Hey! What are you up to?"

Speak of the devil. It was Veer. So much for avoiding him the entire day. Was I practicing the entire day? True. Was I hiding away from Veer? Also true. I needed some time away from him to get myself in control. But as always, he casually strolled over here, ruining everything.

"Hello brother. We were just finishing the practice session." Devansh responded and I was thankful for that. Because if it was left to me, I probably would've come up with an idiotic response.

"But we are in a bit of a pinch." Devika said. "Sister wants us to watch over her demonstration starting tomorrow but we can't, we have to help our father."

"I can watch over her."

"You can?" Devika looked dubious.

"Of course, I can. I have watched the demonstration of Nitya and Chitrasen. I am sure I can manage it."

"But you've only watched the demonstration like twice maybe and that too years ago. How can you actually remember the entire demonstration?" Devansh looked genuinely confused.

Veer started listing the techniques which are usually shown in a demonstration and the twins' eyes widened with every step of it. All of us were shocked. I was sure my jaw was hanging open.

"But how?" Good point, Devansh. HOW? He listed them so effortlessly whereas it took me days to memorize it.

"How do you think I managed to fight in the battlefield for years? Somapura is a powerful kingdom, yes, but that also makes it the target of many. There have been plenty of enemies who had been targeting Somapura's throne for years. We have to constantly stay on guard. If I hadn't been sharp enough, my enemies would have struck me down a long time ago. I have to memorize everything - the routes, the army formations, the enemies' faces - despite seeing them only once. So, let's just say it's necessary for my position." Veer finished off with a wink. This guy!

"I am not sure that I get everything but I presume that our sister is in safe hands with you." Devansh concluded.

"It's really great! You can start your demonstration practice with brother Veer from tomorrow onwards." Devika turned towards me and smiled.

"You've been awfully quiet Laxita. Is this setup alright with you?" Veer asked me with a raised brow.

"Yes, it's fine." It's not and I am freaking out but it's not like I have a choice.

"Good. Then we can start from tomorrow." Veer said with a wicked gleam to his eyes. Will I be alright?

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Hello cuties💞

This chapter was a bit of a peek into the past, I hope you enjoyed it😅

The next chapter is going to be another turning point in the story. So, stay tuned!