Varian's Tangled Trials

Masquerade

Dark, inky, blackness stretched across the vast open sky and down to the four horizons. The view was barely broken in the north by the jagged peaks of pine trees and in the south by the spiraling pillars of Koto's capital city. Set in this sky like a field of diamonds in a satin gown were myriad stars, their depth, and number only a hint of what the cosmos actually held.

The sparking stars reflected in Nuru's warm brown eyes as she gazed up. Her eyes were wide, and her smile carried the same wonder she'd had as a child.

Her reverie broke only when a small, steadily blinking firefly circled her and landed on the tip of her nose. Nuru shook her head involuntarily at the tickling sensation and laughed. She watched the firefly zig-zag away to find a more stable perch, its little dot of light tracing lines through the air.

A sigh escaped her lips as her expression turned to one of determination. She knelt down in the dewy grass next to her notebook and telescope to get to work. She adjusted the telescope then looked through the viewfinder. After a few more adjustments, she finally caught sight of her subject—a bright, burning ball with a long white trail.

Nuru opened her notebook and jotted a few words and numbers. She looked back at the comet and continued to record her observations. After some time, she looked at the whole of what she'd written, and her eyes went wide. She lifted her notebook and quickly scanned the page, her eyes flying over the data.

"It... can't be..."

Nuru's head lifted back up to the sky, wonder now replaced with apprehension.

~ * ~

"Come on, come on, come on..." muttered Yong.

"It looks like the left lane is gaining!" Varian shouted out, his voice boisterous. "Looks like it's going to take the lead! But will it be enough to take the gold?"

Each boy leaned over their own glass retort, each sitting over an open flame with a liquid bubbling inside. They watched as their liquids rose and started to condense on top, cheering on their respective liquid to go faster.

"Almost there!" said Yong.

"It's a close race, folks!" Varian shouted.

The condensation began to drip down, both bottles were very close, and the boys were practically screaming as Yong's dripped down into his beaker first.

"Yes! I won!" He yelled in triumph.

"No!' Shouted Varian dramatically. "You beat me at my own game! I'll make you pay for that!" Varian reached over and started to tickle Yong.

"Hey! No! Stop, you can't!" said Yong, fighting to not laugh. Varian cackled maniacally as he continued to tickle Yong.

"This is your idea of teaching him alchemy?" asked Hugo. He was apart from the other two, leaning back against a tree, judgment clear on his face. "Oh, sorry, I forgot this is just playtime for Itsy Bitsy Alchemists."

Varian stiffened and blushed at Hugo's words. He pulled away from Yong and cleared his throat.

"Anyway, if we mix this with the solution over here..." he grabbed the beaker of liquid they had just made and mixed it in. "It will become one of the most powerful substances in the world." The mixture started to glow a bright green, and Varian held it out for Yong to see.

"Woah," said Yong, with wide eyes.

"I call it, Flynnolium. And it is extremely reactive. Ready for a demonstration?" Asked Varian. Yong nodded vigorously. Varian pulled out a dropper and extracted a small amount from the beaker then slid over a dish containing a red liquid.