The passage was unexpectedly welcoming. When Raven first discovered the hidden passage during his studies, he had fully expected a dank and gloomy hall sunk in dilapidation and mired in spookiness. But it was nearly the opposite. At the bottom of the stairway, warm and plentiful light greeted them. The beginning of a long corridor featured a rich crimson carpet, and alabaster walls were lined with paintings and curious tapestries. It resembled the foyer of a mansion rather than the throat of a perilous cave.

Van turned in circles, admiring their surroundings. “This is crazy. All this time, this was down here?”

Raven nodded. “Yes, it’s quite something. Very well preserved. Almost as if someone has been personally attending to its maintenance.”

“You’re saying someone hasn’t?” He ran a finger along the smooth wall and showed him. “It’s squeaky clean. And where is all this light coming from? Now that I think about it, there isn’t a torch or pandora to be seen, yet it’s light as day down here.”

“There is an artifact at work in this place.”

Van whistled. “I’ve only ever seen one or two artifacts in my lifetime.”

“Don’t get any ideas about taking it if you discover its whereabouts.”

“What, me? You offend my honor.”

“It wouldn’t bode well for you. Let’s go.”

Raven walked at a moderate pace down the hall, and Van followed close behind, adjusting the pack he carried every now and again, but otherwise remaining silent. At times, the hall would curve or turn. At others, it branched into separate paths. But beyond that, the hall stayed exactly the same for what looked and felt like eternity. But Raven knew the way. He didn’t hesitate when multiple doors of gold and jade presented themselves, offering alternative adventures if only he would stop to open them. Perhaps they could soon be explored, but tonight there was only one destination.

The hall finally opened to an expansive sanctuary filled with equivalent light. High above, luminescent orbs surrounded a golden sphere the size of a house. Black rods sprouted from the sphere, impaling into the domed ceiling at various points. Three designs were carved into the surface of the globe, that of a sword, a shield, and an eye.

“There’s the artifact,” Raven said.

Van’s jaw dropped. “It’s huge!”

He nodded his agreement. “This is Rail Roespeye, the court of the guardian.”

Van ventured out into the open space, marveling at the palatial grandeur. Raven felt the same wonder. The former stronghold of Panka surged with unbridled clout, as if authority from the Holy One took on nearly tangible form. Columns of gold and jade supported silver stanchions, and a wide fountain occupied the middle of the hall, bubbling with clear water. A few dozen separate passages lined the sanctuary, identical to the one from which they had just emerged.

A deep echo churned through the previously silent hall as Van began to laugh out loud. Then he let out a cheery holler. “This is unbelievable!” he shouted. The echo crashed back and forth several times. He turned to Raven, arms open wide. “You could fit the whole school in this place!”

Raven shrugged. “I’ve seen bigger.”

He turned his attention back to the various passages, quickly finding what he was looking for and resuming his patient pilgrimage. Van fell behind for a moment, still awed by their surroundings, before catching up.

“Hey, do we have to move so fast?” he asked. “This is seriously incredible. There’s so much I want to explore down here.”

“Tell me about yourself,” Raven said.

He sighed. “Okay, I’m going to be honest. Your one-eighties are going to get old real fast. If you don’t want to answer a question, just say so.”

Raven stopped and faced him. Van also stopped, looking uncertain. “We don’t have time to explore right now,” Raven said. “I have a destination in mind that I would like to reach tonight.”

“Fair enough.”

Raven reached into his robes and produced two flat packages wrapped in paper. He ripped them open and handed one to Van.

He looked at it blankly. “A chocolate bar?”

Raven took a bite of his. “It’s very good.”

Van blinked several times. He looked down at the large slab before taking a bite.

“Wow… this is good.”

“I wish I could have some,” Rue whispered.

“Now, tell me about yourself,” Raven said, taking another bite. “Your past, your background, your goals and dreams. It’s important if I am to help you win Valentine.”

He resumed his trek and Van quickly followed, coming alongside him. “There’s not much to tell. My father is a groundskeeper to the wealthy. Currently, our family manages Moriland Manor in Snow River Park, but when I was a boy, we kept the summer residence of the Chessex family. That was when I first saw her.”

“I am familiar with Hershel Chessex. So, you’ve set your eyes on his daughter? Very bold, indeed.”

Van scratched his cheek, smiling apologetically. “Bold… or stupid. It’s a thin line dividing the two. But I can’t help it.”

“She knows you?”

“Doubtful. I only spoke to her a few times when we were younger, but I remember watching her. She was always in her room, and I used to sneak away at night just so I could look at her. At first, it was because I felt bad. She had classic Lamgard Division.”

Raven looked at him, incredulous. “How old was she?”

“Just ten. I know. Far too early. Years before it happens to even the earliest of them. She wasn’t nearly strong enough, and it assaulted her brain. The doctors were sure she wouldn’t make it. Every week, it was the same prognosis. ‘She’ll be dead in a week.’ But she kept surviving, hanging on by the scrape of her teeth. Days went by, then weeks, but she never gave up.”

Van lifted his scarf, covering his mouth. His eyes told Raven everything. He had wanted to help her but couldn’t. It tortured him, even now.

“Somehow… Valentine made it. She survived. But then, it happened. I don’t know why anyone was surprised.”

Raven hummed in interest. “She split.”

Van nodded. “Two personalities came alive inside her, fighting for control. She survived the Division and obtained her gift, and her body recovered. But her mind broke, as sometimes happens to even the best of them. A tragedy, worse than what was supposed to occur. Worse than death even.”

“A true statement,” Raven replied, finishing his chocolate. “I saw a Lamgardian once with the splits. He was a brain-dead stump, broken in every sense. It’s not just that their minds break. In nearly every case recorded, the two personalities are complete opposites, and they fight for control of the mind in a short lifetime of struggle.”

“A struggle that can never be won, because the two personalities are halves of a whole,” Van said. “One can’t survive without the other. But Valentine rose above it. She somehow controlled both sides of herself. At least enough to keep her sanity. Some people, myself included, think it was because her personalities kept one thing in common, and that allowed them to form something of a truce.”

“Wait,” Raven interrupted. “This intrigues me. Are you saying she doesn’t struggle?”

“Oh, she struggles alright. Don’t misunderstand. Valentine struggles all the time. It’s disconcerting to watch. Her personalities still fight against each other, and the visible switch between them is disturbing. But it never consumes her. And that’s what makes her so amazing. She enrolled at Nine Star last season, and she’s already the top ranked student. Completely brilliant.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Raven smirked. “I look forward to meeting her. It should be interesting to watch her reaction when she realizes she won’t be the number one student anymore.”

Van laughed. “You sure are cocky. I guess you have reason to be. But you’re about to meet your match. She doesn’t lay down for anyone. And you can say she’s the reason I am who I am today.”

“What do you mean?”

“After her siblings died and she endured the splits, Valentine stopped visiting from Lamgard. She went home and stayed for good. It drove me crazy. That’s when I started hunting for information about her. In time, my contacts and methods of obtaining news got better. Eventually, very little escaped my ears. It was all because of her. I just wanted to know what happened to her, and I’ve been listening ever since, even when her family started visiting again in preparation for her schooling.”

Raven hummed. “I did wonder how you learned things so fast. So, you’re an info broker. Impressive.”

“Your turn.”

“My turn?”

Van finished his own chocolate bar, licking his fingers one-by-one. “I told you about myself. Now it’s your turn.”

“You talked about your girlfriend most of the time.”

“Do me a favor. Don’t call her that when you meet her. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it would dampen my chances.”

“My origins and past, I shall keep to myself,” Raven said. “Trust me when I say, there is no profit in learning anything about it. But I can tell you about my present self. I am from Reyk Surlance, as you already know, but I am a Rogue. I know this because I have taken a drink from all seven wells, and received no Hydra. And you may sometimes see me talking to what appears to be no one. But in truth, I am talking to my pandora.”

“You talk… to your cards?”

“Don’t call them cards. Pandora are the pure essence of human life. Therefore, each one retains the spirit of the one from whom it was formed. The strongest pandora, those with high-level souls, can speak to those who are able to listen. I can converse with any of these souls, Class Seven or higher.”

“That’s not a gift of any of the seven Reyks,” Van said exhaustedly. “I’ve never even heard of anything like that, and that’s saying something. And if you’re a Drymouth, how can you even use your gift? How are you able to use Hydra? Where do you drink from? None of what you’re saying should be possible without a pool.”

“I have never been given power from a pool. But I can use Hydra, as you have witnessed. If you want to know how this is accomplished, you will have your answer later tonight.”

Raven suddenly halted, forcing Van to swing to the side to keep from colliding. He looked at a door to their left with a hardened stare, lowering his hood. This was not right. The door looked like all the others, golden and inlaid with jade. But he didn’t know this door, and unlike the others, this door featured a strange mark above the knob. A crude black triangle sketched with ink and marked within by a red, pin-point dot.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Van asked.

“This door is different,” Raven replied vaguely. “It’s… unexpected.”

Van immediately pointed to the mark. “That’s new.”

“Yes.” He frowned. “New and unfamiliar.”

“Really? Why do I feel like I’ve seen it before?”

While Van racked his brain, Raven kneeled to look at the door closer. He had memorized every corridor, every room, every entrance in Rail Roespeye. From detailed maps to secondhand accounts, he had compiled all available sources both known and unknown to mankind. Then, using pandora and complex mathematic algorithms to eliminate false information, he had recreated the true map and committed it to memory. Even though this was his first visit, Raven had been confident he knew every nook and cranny of the Rail. What’s more, a strange feeling emanated from within, reaching sinewy fingers deep inside his heart.

“Raven, let’s leave,” Rue whispered fearfully. “I don’t like this place. Please, let’s leave.”

Raven nodded and continued on, but he made a mental note to revisit that door soon. Was it possible someone had gained entrance to the Rail and been able to construct a room beyond the guardian’s eye? He smirked as they came to yet another turn in the hallway. Maybe he would ask Panka directly.

Van turned the corner, but Raven stopped, looking at the unassuming corner wall. A painting adorned each side, small and similar to the multitude of sophomoric works filling the halls.

When Van realized Raven wasn’t following, he backtracked and joined him to stare at the corner. “What is it?” he asked excitedly. “Another secret passage?”

“The secret passage,” he replied. “Look at the paintings closely, Vanyard. Tell me what you see.”

“Alright listen here, pint-size,” Van drawled, draping an arm over Raven’s shoulder and leaning in close to leer at him. “The name may be Vanyard, but nobody calls me that but my mother. And even then, I’m not the biggest fan. Just call me Van.”

Raven’s eyes narrowed. “I can destroy you.”

“I can pick you up with one arm.”

They stared at each other unblinking. Then Raven smirked. “Tell me what you see in the paintings, Van.”

He nodded in satisfaction. Taking his arm off Raven’s shoulder, he leaned forward, squinting his eyes at the artwork like an experienced curator. The painting on the left featured four gentlemen riding horses. They rode at a brisk pace, chasing after running dogs that were presumably on the hunt for some unknown bushy-tailed quarry. The painting on the right consisted of a bowl of fruit on a table. Van described the scenes to Raven just how he saw them.

“You must open your eyes,” Raven said, putting a hand on the wall. “To truly learn the secrets of Nine Star Academy, you must understand the guardian of Roespeye. Panka, the great charlatan, is always looking for ways to play tricks on students and teachers alike, even dangerous ones. Knowing this, look again at the paintings and tell me what you see.”

Van bobbed his head as if to say, “Sounds interesting” and leaned in again, taking the perusal seriously this time. Starting with the painting of the hunters, his gaze scanned the canvas. After a few moments, he burst into laughter.

“Oh, how funny,” he said, pointing. “There’s a cat running with the hunting dogs.”

“Truly ridiculous,” Raven commented.

Van took to examining the painting of the fruit and quickly noticed the quirk. “Wow. I didn’t even see the purple banana. It’s right there, dead-center.”

“You had help,” a voice spoke in the emptiness of the halls.

Van jumped in surprise and looked around wildly, trying to find the source.

“Indeed he had a great amount of assistance from the short lad,” another voice spoke. “He should not be allowed to enter.”

Raven folded his arms, still facing the corner. “Oh, is there a rule book about this sort of thing?” he said. “If so, I’d love to see it.”

Van came beside him and gasped when he saw what Raven already knew would happen. The horse riders in the painting were moving, their horses turned to face them. The dogs faded from view, and a wind fluttered the grasses and the riders’ coats in short, blustery waves.

“Holy wild!” Van exclaimed, moving in closer. “What kind of Hydra is that? Is this a pandora at work?” He tried to look behind the frame.

One of the riders with a red moustache and bowler hat nodded to his companions. “I see the lad’s point. I do. But even so… that other one had help. Yes he did.”

“But he’s right! There was only one rule. And they solved the mystery,” another black-haired rider replied with a wave of his painted finger.

“Flawless logic, Pemberton. Flawless to the letter.”

Grunts and hums went through the four gentlemen. Then, the corner of the wall split with a loud crack, and the walls parted aside, leaving Van without an answer. The singular space widened greatly, revealing an incredibly wide stone staircase with smooth, shallow steps and ivory banisters.

The first observation to be made was the sound: rushing water, filling the ears so fully the sensation might drown them. As if dropped through a portal into a different world, the auricular sensation was immediate and resounding. Yet, at the same time, it wasn’t raucous enough to drown out Van’s voice as he whistled and descended a few steps.

They had found another immense place, but far different than the court they vacated. This place was more like a cavern, carved from rock into a deep amphitheater below ground. The stairs surrounded the space, descending into a deep pit. And in the dead center, a single waterfall plunged into the void, dwarfed by the immense space, yet defining the whole stadium at the same time. It was like a pillar of misty water, as the beginning and the end both could not be seen. And the stairs were like seats for a million people to come and watch it plunge, if only anyone else knew it existed.

“Are we at the source of Panka’s Well?” Van asked, whirling to look at Raven.

“You could say that,” he replied. “Though, in this case, the source is actually from the sky. But the Hydra comes from this place.”

“Amazing,” he said. He cupped his hands in front of his mouth. “AMAZING!” he shouted. The sounds of water negated any possible echo. He looked at Raven again, who observed quietly from the higher step.

“I am so glad I followed you down here,” Van said with awe, turning in place.

From somewhere in the abyss, a new noise met their ears, deep and creaky.

“Is that… laughter?” Van asked.

Raven smirked. “Uh oh.”

“Uh oh?” he repeated. “What’s wrong?”

Suddenly, a massive roar preceded a wave of water crashing over him. The abrupt waterfall from nowhere consumed them in a direct crash from above before expanding to pour over everything in sight. In moments, Van was nearly drowning, plunged into an upside-down sea.

“Raven!” Van blubbered desperately through the torrent. He raised his hands to keep the water out of his face, but it was everywhere. “What is this? RAVEN!”

He stumbled and collapsed on the step as the water increased in its torrent. Curling up into a ball, he did is best to cover his mouth, but it was seeping through. He coughed violently and started to black out. Then, a new sensation hit him. A gap in the water opened by his face, and he gulped in the fresh air. The gap twisted into a funnel that widened, curling over his body.

In the expanding space, Van was met with a startling sight. On the step above him, Raven sat on what appeared to be a throne of ice. Three pandora rotated around them in dizzying circles, blazing with red fire. And he was bone dry. His elbow lay on the arm rest, with his temple propped against his knuckle, and he smiled with amusement as he stared into the roaring tornado of water that surrounded them.

Raven looked down at Van and reached to offer his hand. “Need help?”

“I am not so glad I followed you down here!” Van spat, taking his hand and pulling himself up.

“You’re not having fun?”

Van wiped his face and shook his body, but he was soaked to the bone. “No.”

In that moment, the laughter returned, this time loud and obnoxious, as if it was made right in their ears. “Well, who invited you to the party?” a voice asked.

They both looked as the water still swirling about collected high above them. The water churned and frothed, climbing up to form a pyramid of water. And from the surging waves, something emerged. A body, human in form but far more massive, crashed out of the surface. Instead of legs, water merely poured from the torso, forming a snake-like figure. But his upper body was like that of an old man’s. Bald and wrinkled, he still possessed the muscle of a formerly stout warrior. A gray beard ran down his chest before curling back up to sling over his shoulder. He held a trident with strange baubles in one hand, and his mouth was curled into a rascally, gray-toothed grin.

“Wh-what is that?” Van asked, stepping closer to Raven.

“That…” Raven replied. “…is the Guardian of Reyk Roespeye.”