Itzal let out a wry smile as the trials Hagumi had to undergo were described in detail. They weren't exactly a secret, but few seraphim had the skill or power to pull off such feats of magic anyway. A curious part of him wondered how they would test someone like him, whose gifts were hardly common. Though he knew that the Council would never let a shadowkin even attempt the seven wonders. Mistrust of the element of darkness aside, shadow magic was almost exclusively offensive in nature - there was little to no way for one to push the limits of shadow magic without wreaking havoc upon the city.

Though when the feral wolf was brought out, he could not help but cluck his tongue in disapproval. "It's one thing to remind her of the possibility of having to do that to Torva some day, but to simulate it like this." He remembered Zilla dying in his own arms, and the pain it brought back caused a shudder to run through him. No, no one should have to know what it was like to lose a loved one, and it was sick to force them to undergo something like this. It wasn't as if they were training killers or assassins. Though, a pragmatic part of his mind argued, it was far better for someone in a position of power to understand the burden of taking a life before granting them the means to order it upon others.

When the ice princess began her attempt, Itzal had to admit a sense of apprehension. He had seen firsthand what happened to her when she pushed herself too far, and while undoubtedly it was far less pressure to pull off such magic when imminent death in battle wasn't looming overhead, the importance of winning a vote and preventing a war had to be on her mind. "I don't envy her position." He commented to no one, sighing as he pulled his cloak tighter around himself as the temperature of the room dropped drastically. He even summoned a ball of flame around himself and the others to provide some warmth, and while the guards seemed annoyed by the use of magic, it seemed they could hardly fault him for it.

When Hagumi grasped the blade, however, was the real test. The trial was oversimplified, of course. It was hardly about opposite extremes - her blizzard was proof that ice could be just as fierce as a blazing fire. Though it was true that seraphim who specialized in certain branches or elements of magic found themselves quite at odds with opposing schools of magic. Itzal was never going to be able to cast light magic, not in the way light users could.

"Typical." Itzal drawled as Hagumi collapsed upon finishing the Seven Wonders, though a smile graced his features. She had just performed a whole slew of exhausting spells one after another, and fainting at the end of the process was not uncommon. Though it happening to Hagumi was becoming a cliche at this point. He glanced in the direction of the Council, to gauge their responses and awaiting the declaration. At the same time, he began planning for the next step in the short term - finding Vates' assassin.