Alvin sat in front of him, a worried look on his face and his hands upon Cypher's shoulders.
"A-Alvin?" Cypher managed to mutter. A look of joy spread across Alvin's face then and he let out a long sigh of relief. Cypher looked down at his hands and saw that the architect's draft was still open to the first page. The diagram upon it was cold and unmoving now, nothing more than ink on a page, and Cypher weakly smiled as he realized that he had finished his task.
"What was that?" He asked, astonishment ringing in his voice.
"That was the beginning of your Athenaeum. I had not expected it to be such a lengthy experience for you. You've been in a trance, moaning in pain and twitching for almost three hours! Are you okay? What happened to you in there?
'Only three hours?' Cypher thought to himself a bit stunned. It was unsurprising that some time had passed in the real world outside his mind, but only three hours? To him, it had seemed an incredible amount of time.
Cypher gulped, the action irritating his dry throat, and he began to explain everything that had just happened to him. When he finished his account of events, Alvin looked horrified and bit his thumbnail.
"I had no idea it would be so... difficult for you. This is very unexpected…" Alvin had barely been able to mutter those words. Cypher could tell Alvin's thoughts were running a mile a minute just to try and make sense of what he had heard.
"I just want to thank you for helping me in there. If you hadn't pushed me forward, I might not have found the strength to pull myself out of that crushing darkness. I would have died I'm sure of it," he said, trying to calm Alvin and hopefully bring the tension in the man back to normal levels.
Alvin stopped biting his nail and looked at Cypher, puzzled. "Cypher I did nothing of the sort. All I did was funnel a small amount of mental energy into your mind to try and guide you back to me. No one could have pushed you I'm afraid. Perhaps you imagined it.”
He had most definitely not imagined it. The feeling had been warm, comforting, and encouraging. But most of all it had been the deciding factor that had kept him from losing his mental battle. He saw how worried Alvin looked, however, and decided to let the matter drop for now. It could be addressed later.
Right now his head was pounding, and his throat was so dry he felt it might crack open. He stood, his legs buckling a bit, and headed to the kitchen for some water. Alvin helped him, offering his arm for support, and after Cypher had quenched his thirst, he nodded.
"You must be right, I don't know what was going on in that void but, I probably imagined it."
Worry still colored Alvin's face, but he had calmed down a bit and helped Cypher back to the couch. Still, it was obvious that something troubled him.
“What do you mean an entire building appeared? That isn’t supposed to happen, Cypher…” he said after a few moments of uneasy silence.
“I don’t know what else to tell you… It just… appeared,” Cypher replied.
“A mental structure is indeed supposed to be built inside your mind, that much isn’t in question. However, while there aren’t many reports of what each Conductor creates inside their mental space, all of the records that do exist say that only a foundation with an altar, along with a small lantern is supposed to appear.”
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“Eventually a structure is supposed to be completed inside your mind but only after you’ve reached the late stages of the second rank. From what you say your experience is unprecedented… Beyond that, you mentioned a presence, and imagined or not that too is quite strange… I’ll have to look into this more. If something abnormal happened it’s better to find out sooner rather than later. Assuming it’s simply a matter of the nature of your elemental affinity is one thing but I can’t help but feel as though we’re missing something.”
"The Architect’s Draft was invented for the sole purpose of growing a Conductor’s mental space slowly and effectively. The parameters of that growth were carefully cultivated and woven into that seal on the first page. It lays the groundwork for things to come in later editions and volumes.”
Alvin was riled up but Cypher failed to see what the issue was. He felt fine, albeit a bit tired and nothing seemed as though it was amiss. None of his centers of power felt strained or in danger. Perhaps it was a fluke, or maybe it had something to do with the spell he already knew. In any event, Cypher wasn’t exactly an expert in this field and had no clue about what may or may not be wrong.
“For now I think it’s best if we take a break for today and pick up on things tomorrow after you've had a chance to rest. The building of one's Athenaeum is very costly in terms of mental energy spent. I wouldn't want to push you much further than I already have today," Alvin said after another moment of thought.
Cypher didn't like the idea of taking the rest of the day off, but he couldn't deny that his mind was very weary. His body held its full strength, but all he wanted to do was sleep despite the energy rushing through him.
Nodding in agreement, he watched as Alvin gathered up his things and resealed the chest. However, he left it near the end of the couch and simply asked, "I don't have to ask you to leave this alone for the night, do I? I trust that you will simply ignore it until I return tomorrow yes?" Cypher nodded again. The last thing he wanted to do was blow his chance to become a proper Conductor by breaking Alvin's trust.
Alvin seemed pleased and placed a hand on Cypher's shoulder, "You did well today, I didn't expect our lesson to be cut short but I am glad that this matter is out of the way for now. I don't imagine you'll be too excited to dive back into the architect’s draft so soon after what you experienced. Still, I must ask you to wait at least two days before you attempt to read the next page."
"You have just experienced great mental trauma and while the groundwork of your athenaeum is complete, it will still take a little while for it to settle upon its foundations if you catch my meaning." Alvin raised an eyebrow as he finished and Cypher agreed to wait. Alvin was right, he was not eager to start the next page of that book so soon. In fact, if he never had to read it again it would be too soon.
Alvin smiled and inclined his head as he took his leave. The door to his apartment closed, and Cypher rubbed his temples as he plopped down on his couch. What had he gotten himself into? Had he known the full scope of what he was agreeing to he would have thrown the book into the nearest fireplace and run for the hills. Still, he was proud of himself.
The fact that he had overcome such an arduous task only served to inspire him to greater heights. As long as the next pages weren't as bad as the first, he felt confident that he could handle them.
He closed his eyes and found himself inside the athenaeum once again, faint clouds forming in the air around the dim lantern. He wondered at them but soon realized that he had fallen asleep.
At that realization, the clouds filled the room completely and surrounded him. His dreams took over at that point and as he soared through the sky, a smile stretched across his face. Bright warm sunlight heated his entire body and the world below shimmered almost like the reflection in a pool of water.
The grass was greener, the trees looked more alive, and the air around him tasted sweet and crisp. Every aspect of reality seemed to have a clearer definition and the knowledge left him feeling content. He twirled quickly in the air, laughing. All was well and he was safe now...