On the following day the estate of the Lyriou family was filled with various activities. The maids at the estate were running around completing tasks as the guests would soon be allowed in. Many of the high-class families were waiting at the entrance in rows. The contestants of the tournament were also there, however they were waiting in a separate row.
Amongst the contestants there were not many of them, perhaps about sixteen of them. However the ones that were there were all from high class families ranging from the age of fifteen to twenty. They were chatting amongst each other and being loud like every teenager would do.
The only person who did not come from a rich family, was Egeria. However he was well known around the town due to his mischief in his youth. He was wearing dark flowy robes and his hair looked well kept, it seems he had put in effort to his looks even if there was nothing but cold contempt on his face as he stood still on his row, it was clear he did not like being amongst rich kids.
Just in front of him Nymphia was standing still, her eyes were observing the contestants carefully. Her gaze was cold and calculating, making one of the contestants shiver and look around to find the source of unease. Realizing this Nymphia hurriedly turned her gaze elsewhere. She was wearing the kimono that she wore yesterday.
Vex was there too, he was standing first in the row with a rather blank expression on his handsome face. He was wearing purple and dark colored robes that exuded elegance, and his blonde hair was tied in a neat ponytail. If he had wanted he could have joined the row where the heads of the family stood, however he had chosen to join the row of contestants since he felt like he belonged here.
Soon the estate doors would open, and they let everyone in. People started entering through the tall gates calmly. The guards of the estate were leading the people, they were passing through the garden at the moment. The garden was full of greenery and some animals even, birds chirped and leaves rustled as the wind blew.
Some bushes were even cut to look in different shapes, not many houses had this kind of decorations in this town, so most of the contestants who were visiting the estate for the first time were in awe.
"Is this your first time here?" Egeria's voice sounded behind Nymphia.
"Nah. I have been here a few times since my parents get invited often." She said as she looked over at Egeria over her shoulder. After Egeria nodded silently she turned to her front and continued walking.
After passing by the garden, they finally entered the large halls of the estate. A short corridor awaited them, it was light up by torches that were hanging by the side of the walls. A red carpet was put on the floor. Next came the dining hall.
'This room is bigger than my whole house..' Egeria thought as he looked around.
The dining hall was rather spacious, plenty of circular tables were around the floor and there was an elevated platform on the end of the dining hall where the mayor and his family would sit.
Although contestants and their families had came in in separate rows, they would still need to sit with their families and their assigned tables. So the rows immediately got messy when contestants decided to approach their families.
As every family was assigned a table, Valerius family had one too even if it had only one member left. Vex had already taken his seat there. Nymphia had left to sit with her family.
As for Egeria.. well he was left standing in a corner, his back laid against the wall. He did not found and tables that had "orphans" nameplate on it like every table had a golden nameplate for every family. The Valerius table had plenty of chairs to sit at, however he did not want to sit with the blonde guy from yesterday.
It turns out he was an orphan too, however he was still a rich snobby kid in Egeria's eyes.
Soon, a door opened and everyone in the dining hall stood up from their seats.
***
The mayor and his wife entered the hall, a young girl was following behind them. The mayor was a tall man with a short beard and long brown hair. He was quite handsome and elegant looking. His wife although was much more easy on the eyes. The woman was tall, she had black colored hair that flowed over her shoulders. Her face and figure exuded elegance, she was wearing a wine red that fit her figure well.
'So these are the legendary Fa rank harmonics..'
It was Egeria's first time seeing them, and it seemed that they were held in high regard as everyone immediately stood up to welcome them. Egeria himself did not lean away from the wall he was standing at. His eyes wandered to their daughter, Aria Lyriou. They called her the musical prodigy which Egeria wanted to roll his eyes at.
Her face was gracefully shaped, holding a quiet beauty that drew the eye. Her hair was a natural brown, cascading in soft waves down her back—though the ends faded into a vivid violet, dyed with striking contrast. Her eyes were sharp, framed by long lashes, with rich brown pupils that shimmered with something unreadable. She wore a flowing, white asymmetrical dress that resembled divine robes from an ancient age—lightweight and ethereal, adorned with golden embroidery that traced delicately along the waist and hem.
'Does she think she is some sort of ancient Greek goddess?'
Egeria's thoughts were cut off as the mayor started talking.
"Welcome, dear guests. As always we are holding a feast before our children take place in the Harmonic tournament. Please enjoy yourselves for the night and our youngsters should have a blast before the tournament day."
With that small speech the family proceeded to take their seats in the elevated platform. The other families started having a feast and partaking in conversations amongst each other. Some musical was playing in the background as the others mingled.
Nymphia approached Egeria, who had still not moved from his spot since coming here.
"So they didn't assign you a seat huh?" Her tone sounded slightly teasing as she gave Egeria the familiar eerie smile.
"I couldn't find a table that said 'orphans', unfortunately."
"Unfortunate indeed. The feast will continue for a few hours, perhaps you should take seat with my family, we have some vacant seats."
"No. I would rather not show myself around your parents, as I have corrupted their only daughter." Egeria glanced at her parents in the distance, then looked back at Nymphia.
Nymphia stared at Egeria with a blank expression.
"What are you staring at me for?"
"Nothing." She said as she turned her head to the blonde person who was approaching them. She narrowed her eyes a bit as she turned to the figure.
"Greetings, young-master Vex."
Vex simply nodded. "No need for formalities, greetings to you too." He turned his gaze towards Egeria.
'What is he here for..?'
"Greetings. We have meet yesterday, even if not under the best circumstances."
Egeria looked at him suspiciously. "Sure. What do you want?"
Seeing that being formal won't be helping him talk to Egeria easier, he decided to get to the point.
"Your swing yesterday was particularly powerful. May I ask what arts you practice?"
Nymphia looked dumbfounded as she glanced between Egeria and Vex.
"You swung at young master Vex..?"
Before Egeria could reply, Vex spoke up.
"No. He was aiming at someone else, I only got caught in between." Then he turned his gaze towards Egeria once again, and tilted his head slightly. It seemed he was serious about his question.
"Well if you want to know.. my friend.. I have taken swordsmanship and spearman ship in the common dojo. And I happen to swing an axe daily for many hours."
Now it was Vex's time to be dumbfounded. He had swung his fist with such force and finesse that it made a simple swing powerful, but he had just went to the common dojo and swing axe daily..?
"Ah.. I.. I see. That is rather interesting." Vex sounded rather flustered after being given such a response like that. It seems he expected Egeria to have been trained by skilled tutors. "I will be leaving then.. Have a good day you both."
With that Vex started to walk away.
"You are a magnet of trouble.." Nymphia sighed, slightly amused by the conversation that just happened.
'Weirdo.' Egeria thought as he watched Vex walk away.
***
As the evening progressed, now it was time to call the contestants one by one and give everyone individual charms. These charms usually chose their own beholder, and they could choose mundane people too. Not everyone was able to get a charm.
Egeria did not know what the purpose of giving these out was, perhaps it was tradition. He simply knew that these charms amplified ones FW technique once they would turn into a harmonic.
Every one of the contestants were now standing in front of a table. On the table there were numerous charms, from a beautiful white long sword to an ordinary rock.
'A rock..?'
Egeria stood between Vex and Nymphia, mayors daughter was just standing next to Nymphia. For some reason her presence was enough to annoy Egeria, however he could not catch why he was feeling this way.
The mayor and his wife was standing on the opposite side of the table. If Egeria was able to sense frequency waves he would have known they were currently analyzing the connections between charms and the youngsters.
The hall was loud, everyone around was talking as they observed. Then with a loud clap from the mayor everything fell silent.
"We have determined the charms, and out of sixteen, four will receive them."
The hall was rather disappointed, this amount was much more less than the amount charms had been handed out in the earlier year. However the mayor was not done talking.
"However, the charms that we will hand out this year seem to have a much deeper connection to their withholders. Please step forward once I call your name."
The dining hall was filled with heavy tension and anticipation. In the decades they have lived in this town there were very few amounts of people that had a deep connection to their charm, and they were going to witness four of them just in one day.
"Vex Valerius, please step forward."
Vex did not move for a few seconds, if he was surprised no one could tell. With his head held high he stepped forward.
"Young master of the Valerius family, please accept your charm." Mayors wife said as she handed a sword with its scabbard to Vex. The sword and its scabbard was devoid of any colors, only white. The runes that looked like melodies were etched onto the surface of the blade.
As Vex took the sword, he bowed deeply to express his gratitude.
Next was.. surprisingly Nymphia. Egeria was not expecting her to get a charm, while the only reason she was attending the tournament was because that he was going to attend too.
'How lucky could she get?'
The charm she received was rather plain. It was thin chains, however Egeria got the feeling that even the mayor could not break those chains. Additionally Nymphia's main weapon was a kusarigama, she could just tie a blade and a handle to the sides of the chain and she would have a new high-quality weapon.
Third was Aria. The daughter of the Lyriou family simply got a whistle. At first Egeria thought that it was rigged and that her parents were giving her a charm to look good.
But what kind of parents would give their child a whistle as a charm? Even they themselves looked slightly dumbfounded.
"Now.. the last contestant." Mayor changed places with his wife, it seemed that he was going to hand the charm personally. "Shi Egeria, please step forward."
The crowd exploded in whispers.
'Why would he get a charm?'
'Isn't he just an orphan?'
They were very surprised that a previous troublemaker with no noble background had received a charm, with high affinity that is.
Egeria calmly took a step forward, looking at the mayor in the eyes with a calm expression. There was no pride on his face, only indifference. As if getting a charm was not very important to him. Which was not, while charms were a boost, Egeria did not really want to associate with any of this towns traditions.
The mayor raised his hand which had a charm in it. The charm was a simple, gold pocket watch that was tied to a thin golden chain. Egeria simply stared at it.
'This is even more ridiculous than the whistle..'
"I trust that you will use this for good will?" The mayor smiled, however his smile was never returned. Egeria took the pocket watch and tied the chain to his wrist. Without a word or bow, Egeria turned on his heel, the golden chain swaying lightly as he returned to the line.
With the charm giving done, the feast was over. Tomorrow the tournament was going to take place.