Davin's Quest by Bianca D'Arc

They’d managed to get a lot of information out in the open to protect both Davin and the humans from possible slipups while they were being monitored so closely.
    “This is a quick test, and nothing invasive.” Harry was seated on the couch as Davin faced him from one of the chairs. “As you know, my specialty is crystal tuning. It is a gift among our people and all Alvian children are tested at the age of thirteen for even a hint of the crystal gift. No matter their genetic line, if they have even a little bit of the gift, they are segregated into a special training program. We need every crystallographer we can get as we try to tame this new world. There are not enough of us, and our scientists have not come up with a way to predetermine which children will have the gift and which will not, even with all their skills and knowledge of our genome.”
    “So you want to test me? I’m eighteen, Davin. Aren’t I a little old?”
    “As you may already realize, crystals are the basis of all our technology. They power our cities and machinery, store our data, facilitate our communications and so much more. They are our most precious resource.”
    “So you wouldn’t want just anyone handling them, huh? I can see why you’re cautious about it. So then, Page 46
     
     
    why are you testing me now?”
    Davin sat forward. “I have a theory that some Breeds may have the crystal gift, but the Council didn’t have a suitable subject for me to test until now.”
    “Until me.”
    “Yes. Because you are half-Alvian, you are better suited to the test.”
    “And they expect me to be more tolerant of Alvian society than the people whose planet they stole.” Harry’s voice echoed through Davin’s mind.
    Slowly, Davin nodded just slightly.
    “What do I have to do?”
    Davin sat forward and pulled an untuned crystal from a special container he’d had in his pocket. “It’s simple really. I want you to take this in your hands and concentrate on it.” Davin emptied the crystal from the container, directly into Harry’s outstretched hand. “Do you feel its energy?”
    Harry tilted his head, watching the lump of crystal in his hand. “It feels warm. And it hums.”
    Davin smiled, excited by the idea that Harry had displayed at least this much ability. Now for the crucial test.
    “Good. Now tell me what you feel when you think deeper, look deeper, into the facets.”
    Harry’s face screwed up in concentration. “It’s murky. Sort of cloudy. There’s a flaw, but the energy is routing around it. It’s an integral part of the whole, but like a sheer face inside the crystal structure.”
    “Excellent. Now think about aligning the energies with your own.” Harry had already easily demonstrated ability far above that of the average crystallographer. Davin hoped the Maras were watching every moment of this and he knew the Council would be watching the recording within the hour.
    He’d send it to them himself.
    “It’s being stubborn,” Harry said after a moment. “It doesn’t want to shift.”
    Davin was impressed. “I purposely gave you a difficult specimen.” He smiled as Harry chuckled. “How are you feeling? No lightheadedness?”
    Harry shook his head. “I’m fine.”
    “Okay, then try this trick.” Davin pulled an already-tuned crystal out of his pocket and placed it on the low table in front of Harry. “Pick up that crystal in your dominant hand, get a feel for it, then align the raw one with it.”
    Harry did it with little effort, earning a broad smile from Davin.
    “Thank you for proving my theory. You could be a very gifted crystallographer with a bit of training.”
    “Think they’ll let me take the training?”
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    Davin shrugged. “That’s up to the Council, but I will argue in your favor, if it’s something you want to do.”
    Harry seemed to think a moment, then nodded. “I’d like to try. I’ve finished most of the classes for my age group already. My mother is a Mara, but I