Elders Fergus and Itzel tread very carefully and were cautious with each of their movements. Their very presence started causing Cypher to experience a massive headache, and the light of the lantern flickered each time they moved.
They looked around at first, nodding and murmuring words of praise at his sturdy-looking Athenaeum. They would pause and glance at the small cracks that spread throughout his mental structure for a moment before moving on to another of the tomes that lined the walls of the small, one-room building.
At a glance they appeared to be somewhat normal as far as mental scars went, however, what Cypher hadn’t noticed before this moment was that each one was now oozing a sort of dark grey mist, the edges of which pulsed a slow and menacing crimson. He wondered to himself if it was something he should mention, but surely they had already taken notice of it.
Elder Itzel caught him looking closely at one of the cracks with a worried expression on his face. At this, she raised her hand to several of the cracks and with a whisper, healed the larger ones. Cypher's headache seemed to diminish a bit then, but their presence still caused him great discomfort. Still, that dark grey mist had stopped flowing from those cracks and even his headache began to subside a bit.
The two examined several of his memories, including the time he spent learning the lightning bolt spell, the events at Gelrin Cliff, and his trip to the academy as well as the events leading up to Eiden's departure.
Afterward, they continued to look through other memories not related to the event at all. He was sure they were simply being thorough, but he did not enjoy the experience of reliving each of those events as they watched them. They spent a lot of time scanning through his memories, none of which seemed related to the accident.
It was strange, but he didn’t want to come off as suspicious or look like he was resisting them at all and so he allowed them to continue despite how uncomfortable it was.
Eventually, they stopped in front of a black book on the back wall, and each placed a finger on it. Just as with his other memories, the events of the accident replayed themselves in his mind. He could feel the hesitation of those moments once again, that strange push that made him want to cast the spell at a much higher threshold than he originally planned.
Again he relived that moment when he had chosen to ignore that feeling and cast it at a more reasonable level, and once again he experienced the moment when that urge overpowered his own will and forced him to cast the spell so powerfully, ultimately resulting in hurting his new friend.
Remorse filled him. He had segregated these memories for a reason. In the aftermath of that event and in the time leading up to this hearing he hadn’t wanted to deal with the cocktail of emotions that had resulted from his stupid mistake. However, now that he was reliving them once again it struck him as odd that such an urge had come over him and ultimately won out.
It wasn’t like him at all to let his urges get the better of him. That had been made apparent many times when he had resisted the urge to punch Eiden in the face or otherwise call the heir out on his behavior. If Fergus and Itzel took notice of this sensation, they didn’t seem to acknowledge it. They simply closed their eyes and nodded slowly as they watched things unfold, and once the memory had finished, they spoke quietly to one another.
Cypher could not make out what they were saying but he hoped it was nothing bad. They then moved to the center bookshelf and began to examine the lightning bolt spell. It took them only an instant to understand it and as they spoke to each other again, looks of confusion broke out upon their faces.
"This is the spell you used right?" asked, Elder Fergus as Cypher leaned against the doorframe of his mind. He nodded in affirmation and the two looked at each other again. Elder Itzel stepped forward then and placed her hands on either side of Cypher's head.
Instantly a bolt of pain shot through him and he instinctively yelped and jumped back out of her grasp. She flashed an expression as if to warn him not to resist and he stepped towards her and motioned for her to try again.
This time however he was ready as the pain shot through him and words began to fall from his lips against his will.
"Duet, Verse 3, Crackle of Lightning Bolt..." His voice was emotionless and monotone as he spoke the spell, and he felt a slight drain of his mental energy as the crackling book of lightning bolt shone brightly on its shelf.
Between his ethereal hands, the spell manifested itself once again but quickly vanished as she released him. She looked confused, then shocked, and finally, an expression of intrigue crept across her face. She turned to the other Elder and he met her gaze with a smile that was quickly hidden and replaced with confusion.
"This... this is unheard of Fergus. He really did cast in triplicate, this spell is also clearly of the second rank, there is no doubt. However, I still cannot determine how this is possible," she said as she crossed her arms and scowled at Cypher.
Elder Fergus cleared his throat and adjusted his robes, "Perhaps we simply aren't looking hard enough. If we cannot easily find the solution to this puzzle, then we may have to use more drastic measures," he replied as a look of worry appeared on Cypher's face.
"No, we've done our best as is,” Elder Itzel said, gripping Elder Fergus’s arm and giving him a stern look. “Sadly, there isn't much else we can learn even if we dismantle his mind. He is hiding nothing from us. I think we're done here we can return now and show the others what we've seen. Perhaps together we can find another way to unravel this mystery."
Elder Itzel walked out of the Athenaeum after that and Elder Fergus paused for a moment before he followed after her. He stopped to heal one of the larger cracks near the door frame with his mental energy and gave Cypher an approving nod as he patted the doorframe. As the Elder’s mental waves washed over his Athenaeum something about them seemed strangely familiar.
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However, Cypher simply couldn’t fathom why that was. A trick of his mind perhaps, or maybe it had to do with the fact that the Elder’s mental energy was currently manifested inside his own mind right now. Whatever the case, the sensation quickly faded.
Cypher let out a mental sigh and relaxed as he felt the pressure of those two Conductors finally leave his mind, his headache vanishing with them. He had done his best to cooperate but he still wasn't sure if he was out of the woods just yet.
Opening his eyes, he returned to the real world and saw that the two Elders were already conversing with their peers. He stood and waited silently for a few minutes, unwilling to break the silence in the room.
His mental space had significantly recovered thanks to the two Elders and he was feeling a little better as his mental energy started to slowly recover. Elder Itzel turned to him after the others sat back down and began to speak.
"After our examination of your mind, we have determined that your actions against your fellow student were truly an accident. Given how you’ve segregated that memory it is clear that you feel remorse for your actions. This, of course, we already knew. The matter of your ability to use such a powerful lightning bolt spell, however, is still up for debate."
“But Elder, what about that strange sensation, the one that made me want to—” began Cypher, but he was cut off as Elder Itzel raised her hand to silence him. The other elders seemed to exchange a quick glance of confusion but Elder Fergus reassured them through their mental link.
“That matter is of no consequence in these proceedings. Besides, it’s nothing you should concern yourself with. It happens to the best of us when we are still learning our craft. You are no different,” she said. Once more the other Elders present raised questioning eyebrows, and once again Elder Fergus reassured them that nothing was amiss.
Cypher still felt conflicted about that. If it didn’t matter or if it was a simple mistake on his part, then why did he feel as though Elder Fergus and Itzel were trying to hide it from the others? It was something he wished to ask about, but he remembered Alvin’s words and decided that pushing or questioning these Elders might come off as disrespectful, so he kept his mouth shut. He would talk with Alvin about it later if it was still bothering him.
Elder Itzel stepped forward then and placed her hands on his shoulders. She hummed softly and a faint white light enveloped his entire body. He rose from the ground a few inches, frozen in place as she held onto his shoulders.
The wave of light seemed to grow brighter with each passing second as it moved up and down his body. The light was brightest near his Orrium and it would linger there for a second longer than other parts of his body. With a sudden blinding flash of light, the contents of Cypher’s Orrium were projected from his body for all to see.
The illumination stretched up into the ceiling and everyone present saw his interpretation of his center of power. The vast lake of Zight was a deep grey and small ripples would expand slowly from the center as the Elders looked on. A few gasps escaped their lips as they watched the lake of Zight for a few moments.
Cypher felt no pain from the experience but he was amazed to see the depths of their examination. The Elders exchanged looks of curiosity and murmured amongst themselves. He couldn’t make out what they were saying but it didn’t seem as though they were upset. A few took notes while others sent waves of mental energy into the lake to examine it further.
Elder Itzel stepped back after returning him to the ground a few moments later, the projection vanishing as she did so, and another look of confusion spread across her face. She turned and shot the others a glance before returning to her place next to Elder Fergus. All was silent as they debated and spoke in hushed, hurried voices.
The Elders aside from Fergus and Itzel were clearly speaking but no sound came from their mouths, yet it was clear that a conversation was occurring and Cypher lowered his head to the ground and stared at his feet while they debated.
Finally, Elder Itzel spoke, "I have to admit that we are at a loss on how to proceed. Your spell is a rare one, but not so uncommon that it is a cause for concern. Although it is quite advanced. The fact that you learned it at such a young age without the guiding hand of someone more experienced is baffling. It is a feat you should be proud of and speaks volumes about your potential in the years to come.
“The true nature of the problem lies in your Orrium. You have far more Zight than a person your age should be able to contain. Furthermore, your interpretation of your Orrium is quite advanced as well. A lake is somewhat standard but if you were to compare it to others in your age range theirs would more closely resemble a puddle or perhaps a small well.
“The fact that you have a large lake is… abnormal. Its sheer size and depth are more indicative of someone in the second rank, not a new Conductor just starting out. This, we believe, is the reason why you can cast such powerful magick but more study and observation are required to learn anything else. It is something we will have to look into more as time passes. Not much is known about Null Conductors since your kind is so rare.”
Elder Itzel brought her hand up to her chin and fell into deep thought.
"You have endured our intrusion into your mind, and while we regret having to intrude upon your privacy in such a way, you still must be punished for your actions. As of now, we do not know how to carry out this punishment. The boy was not killed and will make a full recovery. Furthermore, you seem quite troubled by this incident," Elder Fergus said, picking up where Elder Itzel left off.
"Coupled with the fact that you have such a large reservoir of Zight, as well as being new to the art and lacking the basic level of knowledge, it is only natural that you would lack the finer control one is expected to have over such power. For now, we have decided that you will not attend general classes for the time being.
“As I said, you lack a certain degree of control for one with access to that much Zight. This incident is proof of that. We try to maintain a proper balance here at the Academy and you offset that balance in a way we were not prepared for. Therefore you will train with Alvin for a period of time to better learn how to wield your abilities," he finished.
"Understand Cypher, that your affinity is extremely rare, and we just don’t know much about Null Conductors. You are an unknown quantity, but one that we truly wish to nurture. As such we do not want to be forced to remove you from this institution. Separation from others until you learn control is all that we can do for now. This of course means that you will miss out on a lot of lessons and you will have to work twice as hard to catch back up. Do keep in mind however that if an incident like this occurs again, we will not hesitate to bring down the full measure of our judgments against you.
"Consider this your one and only warning. Your situation is unique and you are very young and unlearned. Because of that, we are going incredibly easy on you. However, we will not tolerate another situation like this. We have an obligation to raise the next generation of Conductors in a safe environment. Our lives are dangerous enough as it is, we cannot allow students to kill one another while they are still learning their art. Go with caution, and know that this decision was not made lightly."
Elder Itzel finished her speech, the others nodding their approval, and waved her hand to dismiss him.
With a respectful bow to the council, he turned and made his way back to Alvin outside the room, but only regret and shame at his actions filled his mind.