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The map laid out on the desk of Inquisitor Victor caused his office to fall into silence. Professor Maple stood there with a grin on his face. He was so proud of himself, Victor wanted to punch him.
“Right.” He muttered a few seconds later, his gaze still locked onto the red circle drawn on the map. “The Howling Valley – that’s what we assumed anyways.”
Kira, who was standing by the door, rolled her eyes. She seemed unphased by the professor’s discovery, nor did she seem to take the Valley seriously. Of course she didn’t – she had never braved it after all. Victor hadn’t been sent to those parts of the Empire since he met her.
“Then your quest ends here.” Alarien bluntly said. Her waist-long platinum hair swung from one side of her back to the other as she shook her head. “You are too unwell to brave the Valley, and even if you weren’t, the grounds should be somewhere far from the trodden path.”
The Professor’s shoulders dropped. “The Valley is filled with spirits of long dead creatures. There is no real danger there – only madness which a trained mind can withstand.” He retorted, glancing at Victor. He sought support. Support that Victor couldn’t provide.
“Alarien isn’t wrong.” He sighed. “And no, there are real dangers in the Howling Valley – it’s not just madness that awaits those who stray from the path.” He folded his arms. “However,” He added upon seeing the Professor’s expression darken with a mix of anger and disappointment. “There is no harm in ground through the Valley – without straying from the path.”
Alarien rolled her eyes. “Victor…” She whispered with a mix of disappointment and annoyance.
He didn’t blame her, how could he? She didn’t want her husband to take unnecessary risks. She didn’t want him to leave his temporary position as teacher in the academy. She didn’t want him to go through that terrible place – a place she knew all too well.
“I disagree.” Kira’s sharp voice piped up. “The Howling Valley has existed for thousands of years, has it not?” Her gaze turned to Victor as she ignored the other two.
“Indeed.” Victor nodded, curious as to where she was going with that line of thought.
“The Duskborn were just as fearful of the Valley, so how could they possibly create their burial grounds within it? They sought a peaceful rest for their ancestors, in a place their souls would be undisturbed until the end times.” She raised her hand in front of her face and started inspecting her nails. “The Howling Valley wouldn’t be a good choice for that.” She finished her words, seemingly already lost in a series of unrelated thoughts.
Alarien pursed her lips. “Where did you get that information?” She asked, raising her eyebrows. The doubt in her voice was palpable. “I have read many tomes about the Duskborn and their society – I don’t remember there being any information about their burial grounds.” She placed her palms on the desk and leaned forward, her intense gaze locked on Kira as she awaited her answer.
Victor massaged his temples. Alarien always doubted Kira, for what Victor didn’t know.
“I read it somewhere.” Kira replied absentmindedly.
“Where?” Alarien insisted. Kira shrugged, then started inspecting her other hand’s nails.
Seeing Alarien’s anger rising, Victor cleared his throat, then took a deep breath. He needed to calm her down, while also deciding on a course of action.
“We have two options.” He spoke as his mind raced. “Either the burial grounds are in the Valley, and unreachable to us – in which case we will be forced to give up on this – or they are situated outside the Valley, which seems somewhat more probable if what Kira says is true.” He tapped on the map, at the other side of the mountain range. “The northern side of the Empire isn’t inhabited by common people aside from the larger cities and the Gate. It’s likely that the burial grounds are on the northern side, so the area in and around the Shimmering Woods would be our best bet.”
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Alarien breathed a sigh of relief, while Kira nodded once. They both seemed somewhat satisfied, albeit for different reasons. Professor Maple, however, seemed more annoyed.
“What do you mean we’ll have to give up?” He raised his voice as he looked at Victor wide eyed. “Don’t you want to find out what those burial grounds hide?”
Dread settled in Victor’s heart as he replied with as much patience as he could muster. “Of course I do…”
“If we don’t find those burial grounds, I’ll never be able to cure Maya’s mana blindness!” The professor shouted.
His words caused a sudden and heavy silence. The air was as tense as the string of a drawn bow as Victor shot a glance at Alarien.
Her knuckles were white as she clenched her fists. Her sheer anger was so obvious that even Kira somehow managed to read the room and keep her mouth shut for once. Even she didn’t dare cross a mother, after all.
“It doesn’t matter.” Kira spoke up.
Victor felt his heart sink as he prepared himself for the upcoming screaming match.
“If we can get to the burial grounds, you can try and cure Maya. If we can’t, you’ll have to find another way. If you fail at that, then she’ll have to try her luck with ascension.” She shrugged. “The girl has a long life in front of her, and if you make sure she keeps that boy around, she’ll hardly have any trouble – he can see good enough for the both of them.” She approached the desk and tapped her long nail on the red circle on the Valley. “This is hardly the only option she has.”
She turned her gaze to Victor. “We should set off at first light.”
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Silence reigned as time crawled by in the camp right outside the Howling Valley. Nobody slept that night – nobody dared to. The whispers that escalated into screams were fresh in everyone’s minds, and no matter how much they tried, they simply couldn’t make away with them.
The students of the Military Academy sat around a small campfire, along with Ash. They had made a simple soup, but nobody had eaten yet.
“I don’t want to go back…” A young woman whispered, breaking the deafening silence. Several people nodded in sympathy. Going back through the Valley wasn’t something they could bring themselves to do at the moment.
Ash wrapped his cloak tighter around his shoulders. The night was cold – unnaturally cold, and the small campfire didn’t do much to keep them warm. Hunger clawed at him, but he feared he would simply vomit as soon as he ate something.
“The return journey will be easier.” The older mage’s voice reached them. He was standing a few steps away from them, looking at the towering forest east of them – to their destination. “The Valley effects those with strong mana hearts less. We will try and get each of you at least rare mana hearts, so it will be quite a bit easier to withstand the voices you’ve heard.”
Ash didn’t believe the mage. He seemed just as frightened as the rest of them, with his refusal to even look over his shoulder, or go back to collect the wandering students. It was nothing but a miracle that nobody was left behind despite both mages’ inability to help.
“So try and get some rest. The Shimmering Woods are only half an hour or so away – we will begin the hunt tomorrow after reaching the hunting camp. We can’t have you be exhausted.”
He walked away join the soldiers at the second campfire, leaving the students to try and rest.
In the end, they didn’t get much rest if any. At first light they were on their feet, feeling just as exhausted as the night before. Frightened glances were shot towards the Valley, and the mountains towering on both sides of it.
This gigantic mountain range cut the Empire in two – it would be impossible to climb over them as dangerous and powerful creatures inhabited them, and going around wasn’t an option either as it would take weeks. Bordering the eastern part of the mountains was a forest that seemed to glimmer even now with the first light of the Spire of Kindling.
The trees were taller than most of the buildings in Bhaile-Morn. Their canopy covered immense areas, yet somehow beneath their leaves the forest was bright and welcoming, not at all like the woods west of Serna, bordering the Serenpetal fields.
Without even preparing breakfast, they set off and soon reached the Shimmering Woods. Bordering the forest was an open area with a packed dirt surface and already prepared tents. A pair of guards were sitting at a wooden desk, seemingly half asleep. One of them stood up to welcome the mages and the remainder of the group, while the other one’s head fell on the desk with an audible thud.
After some short conversation, the group was allowed to scatter and settle in. “You have an hour to settle and eat. Then, we begin the hunt.” The young mage declared prompting everyone to hurry.
They ate a simple breakfast, left all of their extra belongings in camp, and set off as the Spire’s light grew brighter with each passing moment.
“We will spit into two groups!” The older mage declared. “Half and half, to make things faster. Our group will head east, the other one will head north.”
“Come on!” Theresa’s voice startled him. “Let’s go with the instructor.” She dragged him, along with her other friends towards the older mage’s group. A few moments later, they split up from the other group and walked beneath the canopy of the Shimmering Woods.
Far away, a cloaked and masked figure watched the groups splitting up.
It’s almost time…