Max glanced up at the stack of documents before him as he began tattooing another rune on his leg. Part of him wanted to dive into the wealth of information provided for him, but Darius was going to be able to see whatever he read from the documents. There was no harm in waiting. Edric would be able to provide copies whenever asked… But still…

  Curiosity was getting the better of him.

  There was a stack of names written on the tabs. M – that would be Max. Just as he was about to reach for his own file, the warning about his origin prompt appeared again. They must be copies of his application. The medical, the magic assessment, and Darius’s report; they should all be there. Perhaps another time when the prompt had been cancelled.

  There was a tab for each Elder. He was sorely tempted to look at the one labelled N-E-Darius, he wouldn’t mind his past being checked, right? Tit for tat? Surely, he wouldn’t mind Max taking a look at Cy’s past either. Darius should be well versed in it anyway, so there would be no harm done.

  After thinking about it, Max decided the order he was going to go in. Who knew how long he had to read the files before the sun came up, so there had to be a process. First, he was going to start with Cy before making his way through the Elders, prioritising Darius and Elder Aris above the others. That was it… And maybe a couple more if a person stood out in another file.

  Content with his own plan, he pulled out Cy’s file and laid it out. It was looking a bit thin for details when considering it was written by Edric’s people. The pages must be a summary of relevant points. For a while, Max alternated between reading the document and checking his work before he became engrossed with what Edric had dug up.

  Nothing too unusual so far, apart from being a prophet at some time. There was a note about how he wasn’t qualified to be a vet, but there wasn’t an add on for prophet. Did that mean the writer thought he was good for the job? Max couldn’t help smirking at the idea. Speaking of the writer, Edric’s people must be working overtime getting everything up to date from his adventure at Max’s village.

  … No wonder Darius was asking Max to clutch his pennies for Cy. Max found the report troubling as he reread the information. Cy had never given any indication about having a health problem. It was puzzling.

  Just as he was about to brush the report away as inaccurate, Max suddenly remembered Cy’s odd behaviour around Noah’s smithy and the mayor’s house. Cy panicked around both places. They had magic neutralising spells engraved on objects… Max began piecing it together.

  Cy reacted strongly because if he had gotten too close, the spells keeping the heart defect under control would dissolve.

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  The report was accurate.

  Max put down the needle and began looking through the files until he found it, U-Niv. He had been one of them, but untagged. Not surprising once he saw the term ‘five-star story’ in his file. When tagged, all members were warned to strictly avoid three, four, and five-star stories without expressed permission.

  He wasn’t too interested in the contents of the story. There was a brief section about how Edric failed to convert him so far, but it wasn’t interesting. There was only one part he was concerned in. Status: Deceased. Max clicked his tongue in annoyance. Cy was probably fucked.

  Going back to Cy’s form, he continued to read on.

  Feeling a little numb from what he just read, Max realised Cy’s prompt had reappeared for a moment before vanishing again. The redacted parts had been filled in and another starting method was presented.