Master Silas's room soon filled with the presence of the most experienced and trusted members of the Silk Fingers Guild.
Besides Kael and Grok, in the corner stood the agile and silent Lyra, a young woman with long black hair and eyes just as black. She wore clothing made of ebony, with the appearance of leather and the lightness of fabric, but the resistance of a thick, dark bark from the great Ebonic Trees. She is the specialist in disguises and infiltration.
Next to her was the guild's genius, Finn, with his slicked-back brown hair and thin dark brown goatee, which he tried to form into a chin beard with his small mustache. He wore a mustard-yellow suit and dress pants made of web-fabric. He is the inventor, in addition to being a master at deciphering codes and ancient languages.
Beside Silas was the pragmatic and observant Elara, a tall woman over 1.85 meters tall. She wore green leather clothing adorned with blue silver. Her blonde hair reached her shoulders, and her eyes were clear violet that seemed to observe everything around her. She is responsible for the logistics and planning of the most complex heists, with impressive interpersonal skills and strategic capacity.
The Soul Gem rested in the center of the table, emitting its green and blue beams, casting soft reflections on the serious faces of the guild members present. The air was charged with expectation and a hint of apprehension, with uncertain outcomes regarding what this meeting would define for the future.
— So, Silas, — Grok began, breaking the silence with his hoarse, loud voice, — what are we going to do with this little beauty? We can sell it for a fortune! Just imagine what we could buy with that...
— Calm down, Grok, — Elara interrupted, her voice firm, but controlled. — Things aren't that simple. A gem like this doesn't go unnoticed. If we try to sell it openly, we'll attract the attention of all collectors, or worse, the Council.
— Elara is right, — Finn agreed, as he examined the gem with a magnocle in his right eye. — Soul Gems are more than mere objects of value. They possess a unique energy. The Council has a great interest in them.
— And what is their interest? — Rix asked, feeling a little lost and out of place in the conversation, but curious to understand the importance of what he had found.
Silas looked at Rix, with an enigmatic glint in his eyes. — The Council of Shadows, my young friend, is an organization that controls much more than you imagine. They manipulate the flow of wealth, settle disputes between the great guilds, and, above all, maintain balance... — Silas paused with a grimace of doubt and analyzed what he had said.
— Balance according to their will, of course. — He added as an indignant outburst and continued. — They say that Soul Gems can amplify magical powers or even grant new elemental abilities. The Council collects them, likely for their own obscure purposes.
— So, selling it is out of the question? — Grok asked, frowning, as if taking a while to grasp the gravity of what Silas had said.
Before Silas could reply, Lyra, who until then had been silent in the corner of the room, spoke with her voice as soft as a husky whisper...
— We could trade it. For information, for favors, and perhaps even for protection.
— Selling or trading it would be suicide because it would bring too much attention to our guild, not to mention that whoever bought it could turn against us in the future, and it's better not to hand over power of this magnitude so easily to the first rich person who comes along, — Silas replied. — But that doesn't mean we can't use it to our advantage.
— To begin with, we're in the dark about the fate of the Soul Gem, so first we need to know exactly what we have on our hands, — he said, opening a drawer in his wooden table.
— Finn, I need you to analyze the Gem a bit better. See if you feel anything different emanating from it. Perhaps you can find the origin of these light beams and understand what element it represents. — He took a pair of green leather gloves from the drawer and extended them towards Finn.
— Alright, I'll see what I can perceive. Just a moment. — Finn said as he took the gloves from Silas's hand.
He quickly put on the gloves and delicately raised the Soul Gem in front of his face, then pulled his magnocle from his pocket and aimed it towards the gem, his thin fingers hovering over the light beams. Then he closed his left eye to adjust the magnocle to focus with his right eye, and furrowed his brow in concentration.
***
After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence in the room, with everyone looking at Finn waiting for his verdict, he uncovered his right eye and opened both eyes, which now gleamed with a strange light. His lips also trembled as if practicing to reveal fantastic information.
— There is... something here. An ancient and powerful energy. I feel echoes of emotions, of memories... as if the gem has absorbed something over the centuries, resulting in overwhelming magical power.
— Memories? — Rix frowned in questioning. — Whose?
— It's hard to say, — Finn replied. — But it seems linked to a distant past, perhaps to one of the founders of Setharis, or even before that.
Everyone in the room was surprised by the news.
— It's that ancient?! — Grok shouted, astonished, gesticulating with his arms agitatedly, trying to assimilate this new discovery.
— This revelation casts new importance on the gem, which besides having power and abilities, can provide historical knowledge of our world's past. — Kael turned to face everyone in the room, standing sideways to Silas now.
'Ha! What was just a valuable object, perhaps it's an artifact with a deeper and more mysterious history than I imagined.' - Rix followed the frantic conversation full of revelations with excitement...
'Whoever can control this Soul Gem, what level of power would they have? Could they be a leader? A king? Or maybe even a kind of god?'
***
Rix got lost in his thoughts, musing for a few minutes amidst the possibilities.
Meanwhile, Silas stood up and began to pace the room, deep in thought. — We need to be cautious. This gem could be the key to something much larger than we imagine, and we can't risk losing it before understanding more about its power and history. — He stopped again behind his table and thought for a few seconds.
— Rix, you found it, and that means you now have a role in this. — Silas had a serious look but gave a sympathetic smile to the young man, as if hiding the risks that would come with the importance he was about to gain.
*CRICKLE, CRICKLE, CRICKLE*
The young man took a while to understand that the subject was about him. He thought he had misheard that he would have an important role in this story.
— Ye... Yes, Master Silas, I accept any future that can help the guild discover more about the Soul Gem. — Rix jumped to a straight posture and spoke with a confident expression and chin raised, as if putting his whole heart into his words, and continued...
— What do you want me to do, Master? — he asked, with a confident and helpful voice despite his limited experience.
Silas stopped and looked at Rix with his gray eyes that seemed to penetrate the soul. — I want you to learn about it. Finn will guide you in studying the history of Soul Gems and their possible uses and powers, as well as the dangers they can represent.
Then he began to assign his teachers, pointing one by one...
— Lyra will teach you to be even more discreet and to move in the shadows without being noticed. Grok will help you defend yourself, in case this gem attracts the wrong kind of attention. And Elara will keep you informed about any rumors or unusual movements in the city, in addition to teaching him strategy and oratory.
Rix was surprised. He expected to be dismissed or perhaps receive a small reward and remain at the Shadow Novice level. But being tasked with learning about the gem and being trained by the best in the guild was something he had never imagined.
— Thank you, Master, thank you very much! — he said, inclining his torso in several bows, trying to hide the excitement and happiness that shone through his eyes. — I won't disappoint you! — he said with a big smile on his face, looking deep into Silas's gray eyes.
— I know you won't, Rix, — Silas replied, with a slight smile on his thin lips. — You showed courage and skill by bringing us this gem, and now it's time to discover your true potential.
***
From that night on, Rix's life changed completely. He learned about elemental gems, precious stones that contain limited elemental powers, but which helped him gain new techniques and abilities as his teachers instructed him.
He spent hours with Finn, immersed in ancient books and dusty parchments, learning about the history of Soul Gems and the legends surrounding them. He discovered they were coveted not just for their value, but also for legends about their supposed powers that granted immortality to the bearer.
Lyra took him to the dark alleys and rooftops of the city, teaching him to move like a bat and sneak like a shadow, to disappear in broad daylight and use disguises to infiltrate anywhere he needed.
Grok subjected him to exhaustive exercises, strengthening his body and mind, improving his reasoning and combat strategy, and taught him various fighting styles, from unarmed combat to knives, swords, and other more complex weapons.
And Elara kept him updated on the latest happenings in the city, the movements of the Thieves' Guard, and the rumors circulating in the clandestine markets, besides giving him advanced strategy classes and tests, and teaching him how to resolve discussions and conflicts through diplomacy and oratory, as a good strategist should be capable of doing.
Every day Rix absorbed all the knowledge like a sponge, his ambition growing each day.
'I'm no longer just a Shadow Novice. Now I'm the bearer of a Soul Gem, and that puts me in danger, but not just me—it puts everyone around me at risk too.' - Rix thought in his room, sitting on his bed, one night after a long day of training.
He took the Soul Gem from his pouch and held it in front of his face, feeling the tingling sensation run through his entire arm as he admired the beams in unique shades of green and blue that oscillated between them.
'This path may be dangerous. Many in Setharis would give anything to have this gem...'
— Hold on! — He said aloud, questioning himself thoughtfully for a few seconds.
He squeezed his fingers around the gem slightly, while his eyes shone blue and green in reflection of the light.
— Many say they know the taste of the Soul Gem... They say it's sweet, imbued with freedom and great power. Others say it's corrupting and can dethrone even the soundest of kings.
— But I'm the one who holds it, and that's why many will try to steal it or harm the people around me, but until then...
— Until then, I will be ready to taste and discover for myself the taste of the soul!