An Owl's Rise

Two days after their arrival in the Miris Sect's Headquarters, an extravagant letter arrived for Maeve.

It had the Miris Sect's seal on it and gold leafing around the edges. Within the paper magic inscriptions had been drawn to prevent anyone but intended the recipient from opening.

When she opened it, she found that it was a letter from her Grandaunt Vivenne inviting her to a party in honor of her induction into the Sect three days from now.

Very few new members joining the Miris Sect would receive such an honor, but since her grandaunt was the second ranking member of the entire Sect and her magical abilities had reached the high tier of the mage rank, she was receiving special treatment.

This party would also serve as a way to introduce her to the rest of the core members and elders of the sect.

"But who should I bring along with me?" Maeve muttered.

The invitation stated that she could bring four guests with her.

Obviously, she would be taking along her two handmaidens, Amelia and Josephine. The two of them had served her since she was a baby and were practically like mothers to her.

As for the other two people she would bring with her, Maeve was having a more difficult time deciding.

Normally she would just bring along two of the guards she brought from home, but her thoughts kept drifting towards Evelyn instead.

Maeve knew that she had pretty much forced Evelyn to keep her company as a distraction from the terrible thoughts swarming through her mind. She was under no such illusion that they had suddenly become friends. Still, she could not help but think that the possibility was there.

Evelyn did what she asked only because of their current arrangement. Maeve could tell that Evelyn did not care about her status as a member of the Taidale Family, or her becoming a core member of the Miris Sect. Once the contract between them had expired, Maeve imagined that Evelyn would treat her like an equal.

"I'll just go ahead and invite her. As for the fourth individual, I should probably bring along Lucia."

If she was already going to have one of her hired mercenaries accompany her, she figured that it would make little difference to take a second with her.

It made since to extend the invitation to Lucia since she was the leader of Evelyn's party, and because she was incredibly strong.

While she did not think that something would happen at the party, she could not rule out another of her family members trying to assassinate her. In the off chance that a threat to her life did appear, she knew that know one in her retinue would be more reliable than Lucia.

"She is the one that beat my uncle after all." Maeve sighed.

Even from inside her carriage she was able to watch what was happening around her. She had witnessed the entire attack and how handily her uncle and his forces were dealt with.

Maeve felt herself to be fairly good at judging other people's abilities, and whenever she looked at Lucia, she could not envision a way to win if they fought each other.

Her uncle had never invoked such a feeling in her. There was no doubt he was stronger, and it would be an uphill battle, but she knew that there was a chance she could have beaten him.

"She's an enigma though. I can't tell where the true bottom of her power lies. Honestly, she feels more like my grandaunt despite only being one tier above me."

Lucia's entire group was truly baffling to Maeve. They were all first-class citizens that had become mercenaries, which was not particularly unusual. But their talents and skills were all far and away some of the best Maeve had ever seen. It made little sense that they were not chosen to inherit whatever houses they came from.

Nevertheless, as much as she wanted to know more about them, digging into their secrets would only gain her their animosity. Right now, Lucia, Evelyn, Bylur, Rehni, and Aralee were some of the few allies she could count on. Truthfully, Maeve wished that she could retain their services indefinitely, or better yet, earn their friendship so that they would stay with her of their own free will.

"I wonder if there is any way I can convince them to stay. If they leave the Mercenary Association amicably and join the Miris Sect afterwards, it should not cause too much trouble. I'm sure that my grandaunt would love to have a group of talented individuals like them join." Maeve said, voicing her thoughts out loud.

She had less than twenty days now, but during that time, Maeve was determined to win over by just about any means necessary. Coercion was unlikely to work, but perhaps they could be tempted by rare treasures or power spells. Everyone that walked down the path of magic needed more resources if they wished to reach greater heights after all.

"I'll just have to make it more worthwhile to stick with me than continue on as mercenaries." Maeve muttered, her lips curled into a smile and her eyes resolute.

…

A few hours after Maeve had received the invitation from Vivienne, both Evelyn and Lucia were informed that they would accompany the young mistress as her guests slash bodyguards.

After receiving this news, Evelyn and her companions met in Lucia's room and once it was certain that no one could eavesdrop on them, they began their conversation.

"Why is it just you two? If she wants protectors, should she not bring all of us along?" Bylur asked, looking a bit peeved that he would not be able to accompany Evelyn.

"From what I was told, she can only bring along four people with her. Two of her own retinue will be coming along, leaving Lucia and I as the other two." Evelyn explained.

Rehni and Aralee also looked concerned, but not for the same reason as Bylur. This party would bring Evelyn and Lucia into direct contact with the top brass of the Miris Sect. If their true identities or intentions were discovered, it would put them in a dangerous situation.

"There is no need to worry. There should not be anyone that can see through the magic tools disguising our real abilities. The only real problem will be keeping up appearances." Lucia said, before turning towards Evelyn. "From now until the party, I'll need to teach you how to act properly at an event like this. You're a quick learner, so I'm sure you'll pick everything up in no time.