An Owl's Rise

In fact, the only one that was familiar was a large cauldron that was affixed to the ground in one of the corners of the room and it was surrounded by sturdy walls of glass that sectioned it off from everything else.

"Oh, do you have an interest in alchemy?" Anneli said seeing Evelyn's gaze locked onto the cauldron.

A big smile appeared on her face, and she said, "I am sure Lady Melisandre will be happy if you do express your intent to follow the path of alchemy. It is her favorite subject and there would not be a better teacher for you in all of the Roost."

'Oh, another piece of the puzzle falls into place.' Evelyn thought as she heard this.

Up till now she had been wondering why Melisandre had taken such an interest in her. Certainly, she had displayed some unusual powers especially for her current rank, but she doubted that was enough for her to capture the attention of someone she assumed to be one of the leaders of the Owls Roost.

Yet after hearing the comment about Melisandre wanting to study her flame and the fact that she was heavily invested in alchemy, it all pretty much made sense.

Evelyn had read in the book Mason left her that the stronger the flame one had, the more they could advance in alchemy. This was why the heavenly flame was such a treasure as it could easily be used to extract the essence out of any materials in this world and make the highest quality alchemical creations.

'The only problem is if she tries to rip it out of me. I do not know what would happen then.' Evelyn thought as her fears started welling up again.

Unfortunately, she was already in too deep and had to hope that Melisandre would not do something horrible to her as she simply did not have the power to resist.

Once they had been brough back down to the ground Anneli motioned for Evelyn to get off the elevator, and once they had it began rising back up.

Evelyn looked at in a panic and nearly moved to fly up so as not to be trapped down in the second level.

However, Anneli opened up her right wing over Evelyn, and said, "There is no need to be afraid. I will call the platform back down when it is time to go. Now, there are a number of tools down here that I will quickly go over for you."

Moving Evelyn's attention away from the now closing platform that had returned to its starting position, Anneli brought her over to one of the magical devices and began explaining to her what it was.

"This here is the advancement chamber. It was created with a special formation that allows it to break apart magical crystals that are solidified masses of magical energy."

Anneli after explaining this grabbed a bag that had been placed next to this device and opened it up for Evelyn to see.

Inside she saw that there were five of the blue magical crystals, exactly like the ones that Mason had left her.

"Lady Melisandre has left these here for you as a gift to help you boost your rank a bit since you are pretty low right now in terms of the standards of the Roost. It is very rare for any owls that are not at least at the high-tier of the fiend beast rank to be accepted as new recruits, and I do not think I have ever heard of a mid-tier or lower fiend beast being accepted as a personal disciple to someone of Lady Melisandre's rank."

She then went on to show Evelyn how to work the magical tool and explained that it was best used while one was resting as they would naturally be able to absorb the energy without wasting time.

After hearing that this magical device could help her advance through the ranks, Evelyn wanted to jump right in and start getting stronger.

Though as Anneli saw the look on Evelyn's face, she said, "I can see that you are eager, but I recommend that you wait until Lady Melisandre gets back before you enter. It is best to have someone watch out for you in the beginning. If you try to absorb too much magical energy at once, you will find that it can make you quite sick or in some cases even kill you."

Once she had finished warning Evelyn about recklessly using the advancement chamber, Anneli went around to the rest of the devices in the room and explained to her what they did and when they would be used.

"And I have saved the best for last which is that cauldron you had been looking at." Anneli said as she brought Evelyn into the sealed area the cauldron was in.

Now looking at it up closer Evelyn could see that it was far higher quality than the one that Mason had left her even though she was not a master at appraising things.

This cauldron was just that much better made that even an amateur like her could see how well-crafted it was.

It was adorned with all manner of runes and magical circles, both on the inside and out, and it was made of glossy black metal that was the same as the guest cuff that Melisandre had given her.

"Melisandre was so ecstatic to have a new disciple that she ordered me and Katrina to bring one of her spare cauldrons into your room for your personal use. It is likely that this is one of the twenty best cauldrons in the Roost so you should feel honored to use it. Even I am not offered one quite this good as only Lady Melisandre's attendant." Anneli said with a slight sigh.

Hearing this it became apparent that Anneli was also an avid practitioner of alchemy, and the red feathers she had likely meant that she too had an affinity for fire.

'Now that I think about it Katrina also had red feathers, so it is likely she also has a fire magic affinity and practices alchemy as well.' Evelyn thought seeing Anneli looking longingly at the caldron she had been given.

"I do hope that you have a talent for alchemy. While Lady Melisandre did leave you the necessary tools to practice other trades such as inscriptions and embroidery, I know that she is looking forward to experimenting with you in the matter of alchemy."

When Anneli had finally finished giving an impassioned speech about alchemy and how she was looking forward to teaching and learning more with Evelyn, she finally took her back over to where the elevator platform was.

Quickly she sent more magical energy into the ground and another circle lit up and the platform once again descended to pick them up.

"Okay now that you have seen you room, it is time to take you around the rest of the mansion. I believe it is around time for a meal anyway so how about we start with the kitchen."