“Huff! Huff! Mistress! How much – Huff! – longer?!”
“An hour. Maybe two. Why?”
“I don’t– Huff! I don’t think– Huff! Huff!”
Fifteen looked over her shoulder, and found that Raela really wasn’t doing well. The girl was drenched in sweat, breathing like a sawmill, and her face was so pale it was as if she was about to vomit and then pass out. This was unfortunate. The sorceress hoped they’d reach the first checkpoint before this happened, but it would appear the girl’s constitution couldn’t hold up after all. This was hardly unexpected. She was still a child, after all.
“Tacitus. Carry her.”
“Alright! Upsy-daisy!”
The oddly enthusiastic witch hunter hoisted the little lady up and over his head with one hand. Raela was so tired she didn’t realize what was happening until she was already riding the knight’s shoulders. She wrapped her arms around his helmet and clenched her eyes with a yelp, fearful that she’d fall. After several seconds the shock subsided and the girl slowly peeked through her eyelids.
“Woah… I’m so high up!”
She’d never been in this kind of situation, and even though the scenery was as bleak and depressing as before, the new perspective seemed to breathe new life into her.
“Feeling better?” her mentor inquired.
“Ah, yes. Much. Thank you, Mr. Knight.”
Incidentally, the girl avoided calling Brother Tacitus by name since she was embarrassed that she struggled to pronounce it properly.
“Think nothing of it, little Ray! I’ve been meaning to get a cute new hat for a while, actually. Heh-hee.”
“Then I will gladly fulfill that role,” she merrily replied. “Though, Mistress?”
“Hm?”
“It’s just a hunch, but…”
It wasn’t even a minute since she was picked up and she already felt incredibly refreshed. That was strange. Actually, it was more bizarre that she got that tired so soon. She was well aware of her body’s limits after spending a month on the road, and she should’ve had at least another hour of walking in her. Maybe two or even three if she pushed herself.
“Is the ground here poisoned or something?”
Fifteen was taken aback for a moment. What was this strange, fuzzy feeling welling up in her chest? Pride in her pupil, perhaps? Either that or the dust zone was getting to her too.
“… Yes. You did well to notice,” was her delayed reply.
“Thanks, but don’t you think you should’ve mentioned that earlier?”
Though she was happy for the rare compliment, she was far more annoyed at being kept in the dark. Again.
“It would not have changed anything. There is no way to stop it.”
“That may be so, but I could’ve asked for help sooner instead of struggling silently like a moron!”
“It is important to struggle. That experience will be invaluable when you walk this trail alone one day.”
“Ugh… I suppose. Though, what is it that tired me out so fast?”
“The Withering, little Ray,” Tacitus jumped in.
“Oh, I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Me neither. Horribly unimaginative name. Too on-the-nose. If it were me, I’d have called it ‘The Triple-Hop Dip,’ or something.”
“… Probably best it wasn’t up to you, then.”
“Hah! No argument there! Anyway, that’s just how we call it in the church. I bet Miss Name-too-long knows it by, heh, a name that’s too long.”
“So what’s this Withering do, exactly?”
“No clue.”
“… Sorry, bad choice of words. What does it do, approximately?”
Fifteen let out the quietest snort known to man. It took her this many weeks, but that girl was finally getting the hang of communicating with the intentionally obtuse knight.
“The dust, you see. It drains the life out of everything it touches, turning it into even more dust. It even works on things without life. Like my boots, your robes, or your teacher’s social circle.”
Raela giggled a bit at that last jab, but she didn’t take his words lightly. She checked the hem of her long yellow coat and found that the part that had been dragging along the ground was noticeably more discolored and tattered than the rest of it. She’d definitely need a new one by the time they left Vigil Valley.
“So that’s how dust zones spread, huh?”
“Yep.”
“Mhm.”
“Grwl.”
The girl could understand affirmative grunts from Tacitus and Fifteen, but why was the saber-tooth getting in on this, too? Actually, now that she thought about it…
“Is Bahm alright?”
He was big and strong, but with four legs surely this Withering stuff should affect him more severely.
“He’s fine,” Fifteen said. “Monsters have a natural resistance to necrogeotic erosion. Mages do as well, to a lesser degree.”
“And how come you’re not tired?”
“I am.”
She just hid it well.
“What about normal people, then?”
“They’d collapse and expire in half an hour without earth-enchanted footwear.”
Unless, of course, they didn’t have a way of clearing out the airborne particles, in which case they’d be down and out in minutes.
“Wait, did Mr. Knight have boots like that?”
“Nope! My gear is all-natural, home-grown, and non-magical!”
“Then how are you fine?”
“Heh-ha! Guess I’m built different! Hahaha!”
“Huh…”
Fifteen peeked over her shoulder. She wondered if she should repeat what she just said about monsters, but decided against it. Innocence was a precious thing, and she’d rather let Raela keep what little she had left. Besides, it’s not like sharing unsubstantiated theories and rumors about the witch hunter’s ‘blessings’ would change anything. That said, the girl’s scrunched-up face made it clear she was trying to figure things out, and knowing her she just might put two and two together. So, her mentor decided to give the apprentice something else to keep her busy.
“Raela. While you’re up there, look for the first checkpoint.”
“Do you mean that small hill up ahead?”
Something large and curved was poking through the topmost layer of toxic dust. Not by much, but plenty to stand out against the disturbingly flat horizon. Tacitus would’ve seen it as well if not for the ‘waves’ generated by Fifteen’s convection wand. In any event, the hill was more or less directly ahead so the group hadn’t gotten lost after all, and once they got close enough they could all clearly see the solid shape through the dense smog. A bit more walking and some additional details became apparent at the same time. First, the hill was not a hill at all, but some kind of enormous stone structure shaped like a shallow dome with a diameter of at least ten meters. Secondly, there was a gap of dust-free air and ground between the building’s edge as if an invisible wall was keeping the dangerous particles away. And lastly, there was a small hole on the edge of the structure through which a warm yellow light poured outward.
“We’re here,” Fifteen declared. “Not a lot of headroom near the edge, so we’ll have to crawl into the middle.”
She wasn’t kidding. That opening was so small that even Raela had to get on her hands and knees to fit through. Thankfully because of the clear zone around this place the ground was just bare, dry dirt without any hazardous residue. As she crawled into the gap, she found the interior floor was lined with a huge amount of carpets, blankets, and pillows. A bunch of barrels and crates were stacked up around the middle where the ceiling was highest. Speaking of which, that light she spotted earlier was coming from some strange glowing crystal embedded into the center of the massive concave disk overhead. That material was something she recognized. It was a magical mineral called lumenite, and it was common for nobles like her father to have lamps made from it. However, those were usually elaborate containers for tiny pieces of crystal no bigger than her thumb, whereas that chunk up there was so massive it was comparable to a queen-sized bed. That stuff was more valuable than gold so even she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of greed looking at that marvelous chunk of lumenite.
“Don’t get any ideas,” Fifteen warned her.
“… Sorry, what?”
“The archives’ keeper will be very upset if you tamper with it and might deny us entry.”
“I see. Well, in that case you will be glad to know I wasn’t planning on anything shady.”
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
“Huh?”
Raela turned around to find Brother Tacitus in an aggressive crouching stance, both hands on his ridiculously large sword, which had been ever-so-slightly drawn from its scabbard.
“Heheh-hah-ha! You sure about that?” the witch hunter questioned. “Because I’m getting some mad heebie-jeebies from that place.”
He wasn’t the only one. Bahm was also clearly on edge, and not just because he had to struggle to fit his bulk through that narrow gap.
“I said it’s fine,” the sorceress insisted, “so put that away.”
“Tsk. And here I thought we’d finally see some action.”
Fifteen did not dignify that with a response beyond a disapproving head shake before turning to her apprentice.
“Raela, tribute.”
“… Oh, right!”
Both of them rummaged through their luggage for a bit. Fifteen brought out a blanket in red, orange, and yellow flame patterns while Raela produced a cute little white pillow with some frills. These were bought from a small village shortly before reaching the Rolling River, and were quickly added onto the pile of covers and cushions on the floor. This was a ritual of sorts, an unspoken promise between fellow mages to keep this little oasis as cozy as possible. As for the barrels and crates, they were full of clean water, preserved food, and other basic necessities just in case those passing through were running low. Those were provided by the church, who did regular supply runs every spring and fall. Ideally Fifteen would’ve tagged along with the golem caravan responsible, but she’d just missed it because of that post-asylum quarantine.
The group settled in around the relatively more spacious middle and availed themselves of the provided provisions for dinner. Raela wasn’t exactly thrilled since this stuff was just like the unappetizing field rations from Cherrytown. Unfortunately, she didn’t exactly have a choice since lighting a fire for cooking was an obvious no-no. All the flammable floor coverings aside, there wasn’t any firewood on hand, nor was there room for the smoke to escape. So, she nibbled on her bone-dry jerky with mild disdain and once she had enough she found an agreeable stack of blankets and turned in for the night. Or so was the plan, but for some reason she couldn’t relax. It was like a stranger was in the room with them, breathing down her neck. She couldn’t see or hear it, but nevertheless felt it. This must’ve been what got the boys so upset earlier, yet Fifteen seemed wholly unconcerned, which meant it probably wasn’t anything to worry about.
The group set out the next morning, though it was hard to tell with the sparse sunlight filtering through the cloud of dust up in the sky. They resumed their trek much like before – Fifteen with the convection wand in front, Bahm at her side, and Raela and Tacitus following in her footsteps. The Withering tired the apprentice out even quicker than before, and she was once more hoisted onto the knight’s shoulders. With her elevated vantage point she was yet again the first to spot their next rest stop. It looked like a massive pillar from afar, but as she got closer she realized it was a rather strange one. It was another gigantic stone carving that seemed to repel the dust around it, but this one looked far more damaged. It was covered in cracks and was missing chunks from all over, not to mention the jagged edges around the top made it clear this used to be part of something even bigger before it was broken off.
More importantly that odd sensation of being watched was present here as well.
“Mistress, just what are these ruins?”
“That’s for you to figure out.”
“I had a feeling you’d say that…”
“Haha! Come now, surely you can at least give the little lady a hint!” the witch hunter nudged the sorceress.
“I have told her all she needs to know.”
“More like it’s a pain to explain,” the girl grumbled under her breath.
“Did I hear you say you want to do a hundred push-ups?”
Raela covered her mouth and looked away from Fifteen’s sharp glare in a panic. She forgot this place was so deathly quiet that even the slightest whisper could be clearly heard. Thankfully, her Mistress decided not to make good on that threat, and the apprentice didn’t feel brave enough to call her bluff, so the rest of their stay was almost entirely silent. It wasn’t until they reached their third pit stop that the girl finally realized what the strange ruins were. From afar, it seemed like another tilted and broken pillar half-buried in the ground, but this one was thicker, shorter, and weirdly bumpy. A closer inspection revealed it was actually a stone arm sticking out of the tortured soil, its hand missing all of its fingers.
“Is that… Eranos?”
“Mhm,” the sorceress confirmed. “Well done.”
Much as she boasted the day before, she had indeed given her apprentice all the information necessary to solve this mystery. These ‘ruins’ were actually the remains of the massive colossus she mentioned shortly before the group entered the dust zone. That weird shallow dome was his shield, yesterday’s pillar was the handle of his spear, and this was one of the hands that wielded them. The ancient spells used to animate the titanic statue were so potent that his fragments kept harmful magics at bay even now, nearly two centuries after his defeat.
It really wasn’t that difficult of a mystery to figure out. In fact, it was inevitable Raela would piece it together when they reached their final checkpoint, but Fifteen felt this was an important lesson. Historical texts and artistic representations of the past really failed to capture the sheer scope and absurdity of the ancients’ era. Seeing it in person had a way of driving home the inescapable fact that humanity could never achieve such dizzying heights, nor should they strive to, given the catastrophic fall that followed. Looking at the wide-eyed, slack jawed look on the girl’s face, the message was very clearly sinking in. Though, now that Fifteen thought about it, there was one thing about Raela’s revelation that seemed… off.
“Why did you call it that?”
“Hm? Sorry, what?”
“You called the titan Eranos.”
“Well, that’s his name, isn’t it?”
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
“It is, but I never told you that.”
“No, no, you did.”
“When?”
“I mean, it was back when… I mean… Uh… Huh. Weird. Must be that ancestral memory thing.”
Indeed, that was the most likely culprit. Raela was a skyblood, and the titan was carved and animated by giants, so it wouldn’t be that strange for them to be connected in some way. However, Fifteen had never heard of a skyblood being able to recall specifics like individuals, names, or places before. Was the unusual clarity of the girl’s ancestral memory a one-off fluke, or merely the first sign of something greater? Her gut told her the latter. There was no way of telling if this was a good or bad omen, but given how these things went, it likely wasn’t a cause for celebration.
“… Guess so.”
The sorceress decided not to dwell on it right now. She realized she was most likely overthinking things again and should first consult with someone more knowledgeable about skybloods. Hopefully nothing bad would come of this, and ideally it could turn into a source of strength for her precious protege. She expected she’d get some answers when they reached the Vigil Valley Archives, though not from the scholars stationed there or the vast repositories of arcane knowledge they tended to. It was the facility’s gatekeeper that Fifteen hoped would enlighten them, and they’d meet him soon enough.
Sure enough, barely two hours after setting out on the morning after, the group’s month-long journey finally drew to a close. Like before, they reached an area of clean air surrounding more of the fallen titan’s remains. Or rather, the bulk of them. Eranos remained more or less as Fifteen last saw him – the upper half of a human-like torso resting on its side with only a head and most of a right arm still attached. Much of his outer shell had been damaged or crumbled away, but there was no doubt the mangled mass of stone once resembled the giants’ ideal of the perfect male body, which wasn’t all that different from humanity’s. The most intact part of the shattered colossus was the helmet on his head. Or rather, his head. He couldn’t remove that armor any more than Fifteen could take off her own scalp.
“Oh! Now there’s something you don’t see every day!”
As a fellow bucket-head, Tacitus could certainly appreciate the headwear classic design, though it wasn’t exactly his style. The gaps around the eyes and mouth were a bit too exposed for someone in his line of work, though the giants certainly didn’t care. They outfitted most of their soldiers with that style of headgear, including the humans in their service. They were called hoplites, and if memory served, there was a small island nation far to the south-east that kept that style alive. The witch hunter always wanted to go and see them for himself, but his job didn’t exactly come with a lot of vacation days.
“I would hope not. Eranos must have suffered greatly before he died.”
Raela had no clue as to any of that and her thoughts were directed at those horrible wounds. Losing an arm, both legs, and most of his lower torso must have hurt like hell. The kind girl would never wish an end that gruesome on anyone, not even the witches who took her family hostage.
“He’s not dead.”
“… Huh?”
By the time Raela looked over to Fifteen, she already had her copper wand out and was pointing it straight at the broken colossus.
“Ignum expulso dionis.”
The statue’s head was promptly engulfed in a fiery conflagration that made his entire body shudder and shift, though not because it packed that much punch. In fact, as the flames and smoke dissipated, it was revealed he didn’t even have a scratch. Not a new one, at any rate. All that movement was, in fact, caused by Eranos himself. His eyes now glowed with the same radiant hue as the crystal embedded in his shield – a sign that consciousness had returned to the titanic warrior.
“As foretold, the dawn breaks anew.”
Though his lips did not move, his thunderous voice caused ripples across the sea of dust.
“Alas, it is another morrow I must meet with a bitter and heavy heart. How much longer must I endure these trials?”
Raela wasn’t sure how to feel about this. On one hand, she was incredibly excited. A gigantic talking statue? Easily the most magical thing she’d ever witnessed. Well, there was that demonic ambush, but she didn’t really see much since it was dark and raining. This was a sight she was sure to remember for the rest of her days, yet the broken body, sad tone, and depressing words quickly drowned out any joy or thrill she might’ve felt. Confused and unsure of herself, she looked back to her mentor to seek guidance, which must have been anticipated as Fifteen was quick to address her concerns.
“He’s fine.”
The girl raised an eyebrow and looked up to the melancholic titan.
“Woe hangs heavily upon me, for this world is not one where I belong.”
“… You sure?” the girl questioned her mentor. “He doesn’t sound fine.”
“He’ll perk up if you introduce yourself.”
“Oh, alright. How do I do that?”
“Throw your magic at his face.”
Raela raised an eyebrow. That seemed incredibly rude and potentially dangerous, but Eranos didn’t suffer a scratch from Fifteen’s monster-splattering explosion, so a mere novice would surely not cause any harm. So, Raela decided to trust her Mistress and conjured a bolt of flame that struck the living statue’s left cheek with all the impact of a single raindrop. Surprisingly, that seemingly inconsequential action did indeed catch his attention, as his colossal head shifted to face the group instead of gazing longingly at the murky sky.
“Ah, a fresh face to these old stones! Greetings to you, young one. Do pardon my frown. I grow a tad cantankerous when my sweet slumbers are stirred.”
His tone was now full of cheer, and though his lips did not move, Raela could practically hear a smile. That aside–
“Mistress,” she whispered, “did he just say he was grumpy because you interrupted his nap?”
A firm nod was the only response she got.
“Ah, young one, they call me Eranos, a name that whispers of guardianship. Pray, what moniker do you bear upon the grand journey of life?”
“Uh, hello! I’m Raela! It’s good to meet you!” she shouted an introduction.
“Ah, a name of worth! Does it herald hope and grace? For that’s the sweet fragrance I gather from it, my dear.”
“Thank you! That is very kind of you to say!”
The girl couldn’t help but smile as she got dragged into his pace. Something about this guy really resonated with her.
“Think nothing of it, young one. It is a welcome reprieve from the numbered lass besides you. She carries her title like an old oak on a stormy night, yet herself is as dull as a still pond on a windless day.”
“Uh… what did he just say?” Raela whispered again.
“He called me stiff and boring.”
“This is precisely what I allude to,” Eranos grumbled. “You remove the joy and merriment from even the simplest pleasures.”
“I have better things to do, so stop stalling and get us inside already.”
She desperately needed a hot bath and a soft bed.
“If that is your will, then so shall it be. Is it merely the both of you on this grand adventure, then?”
“No, we have two more. A witch hunter and a familiar.”
“Heya, big man! How’s the weather up there?!” Tacitus waved at him.
Bahm didn’t bother to offer any greeting, and merely maintained a casual stance by the sorceress’s side. He’d seen so much weirdness since he became her familiar that a moving mountain really didn’t phase him, especially since it clearly lacked both the means and the intent to be a threat. He ignored Eranos just as much as Eranos ignored the two of them, though that didn’t stop the witch hunter from flapping his arm about. If anything, it encouraged him to use both hands to get the titan’s attention, to no avail.
“Mr. Knight, I don’t think he can actually see you,” Raela whispered yet again.
“But I’m right here, though! I am, right?”
“It seems he doesn’t recognize anyone whose magic he hasn’t tasted, and you don’t have any.”
“Ha!” Eranos suddenly chortled. “The keen-eyed youth has spotted the truth with the clarity of a hawk at dawn! I also possessed such vision in my golden days, but alas, that time is long past and drifts further still with each day.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Fifteen was clearly getting frustrated. “Look, you can chat all you want later, but right now I really need you to do your job.”
“Now, now. Let us not get dragged into a tizzy. A pair of enchanting ladies, one stalker of sorcerers, and a beastly all – be this the breadth of your party?”
“Yes.”
“Then grip your stallions and stiffen your buttocks.”
“… I’m sorry, what?” Raela blurted out.
“Come now, little Ray,” the knight scoffed. “He clearly said to hold your horses and sit still. Are you really that illiterate?”
“Not at all. If anything, it’s weird that you were able to parse that so quickly.”
Fifteen silently agreed with that point. Come to think of it, both of them talked funny, so perhaps they understood each other in some weird way, not unlike her familiar and Azyra’s roc. It was a little ironic since the colossus’s faulty senses made it impossible for him and Tacitus directly. Perhaps Raela could act as an interpreter of sorts? Yes, that would probably be for the best. It would both further her apprentice’s education and keep that donkey-headed nuisance out of her hair. Though, first things first, they had to actually get inside the Vigil Valley Archives. That part was simple enough, now that they’d made it this far and introduced themselves to Eranos. Once the talking statue was ready, he summoned four pillars of prismatic light that pierced the toxic clouds above and crashed into the ground between him and the group.
“Follow my lead.”
That was the only thing Fifteen said as she stepped into one. From the others’ perspective, the sorceress vanished into thin air along with the radiant column. From her point of view, the Sage experienced a most peculiar sensation akin to hurtling through the air without the wind flapping her robes or whistling in her ears. It was something she felt in her ears and stomach, and quite intensely at that. That made her feel incredibly nauseous by the time she ‘landed’ several seconds later. She was ready for it, though, so she managed to keep her meager lunch down. Her apprentice was not as forewarned and vomited the instant she arrived a few breaths later. In hindsight, Fifteen really should’ve said something. This wasn’t a learning opportunity, but a straight up inconvenience.
“Sorry, Raela,” she knelt by the poor girl. “I forgot to warn you.”
“Ugh… It’s quite alright, Mistress. Ah, thank you.”
She gratefully accepted the napkin handed to her and wiped her mouth, only to then suddenly realize it wasn’t Fifteen who gave her that. She reflexively scrambled away from the stranger she just noticed, prompting the sorceress to grab and lift her up in her arms before she embarrassed both of them.
“Calm yourself. It’s just a custodian.”
Looking over her shoulder, the girl was both relieved and amazed to find a floating assortment of clear and glistening crystals with a faint green tint. The biggest one in the middle was shaped like an upside-down teardrop, a much smaller sphere was directly above it, and a collection of long and narrow fragments resembling arms and fingers were on either side of its torso. All these pieces hovered around each other with nothing but air where one would normally find joints like the shoulders, elbows, or wrists. No legs to speak of, though they clearly weren’t needed. Looking around, there were another five or six similar yet distinct crystalline constructs milling about, one of which was directly above Fifteen and another two drifted over to Bahm and Tacitus when they arrived in a burst of light a few seconds later. The boys handled the rough ride a bit better than the apprentice did, though both of them were wobbly on their feet for a while.
As for the chamber they were in, it was more or less what Raela expected from their destination. It was a grand, circular library, its towering walls lined with hundreds of shelves bearing thousands of books. An elegant spiral staircase led up to a balcony that ran the entire circumference of the room, where no doubt even more tomes could be found. The dizzyingly tall ceiling was covered in glass, letting in a waterfall of sunlight. What appeared to be a glass tree sprouted from the ground not too far from where the party had arrived, its beautiful leaves catching and refracting the heavenly radiance in a way that made it dance around the enormous chamber. Speaking of the ground, it was covered in fresh grass and fragrant wildflowers that were a welcome reprieve after spending nearly four days in that dreadfully barren dust zone.
“Welcome to the Vigil Valley Archives,” one of the custodian constructs spoke in a soothing monotone. “We have been expecting you. Please, come this way.”
The group was guided into a relatively small corridor that led them to a study hall of some kind. There were about twenty long tables with a dozen chairs each, and a number of more private booths separated by standing screens. Not a lot of books, but plenty of people. Wizards, judging by the look of their fancy robes and large hats. Raela counted thirty-two of them in total, each accompanied by a custodian of their own. She briefly locked eyes with several of them, but most were too absorbed in their work to pay attention to the fresh arrivals. At least until someone noticed the presence of their natural enemy.
“… Is that a bloody witch hunter?”
“What?”
“A hunter? Here?!”
“Oh, this can’t be good.”
“Don’t mind me folks!” Tacitus gave them a playful two-finger salute. “Just passing through!”
It didn’t exactly defuse the situation. If anything, hearing him speak only agitated the wizards even more. Thankfully, the group passed through the hall and into another corridor before he caused even more of a scene.
“I have been meaning to ask,” Fifteen looked over her shoulder, “what are you going to do now that we’re here?”
“Uh, I’m your bodyguard. I’ll be guarding your body. Duh?”
“There’s hardly a need for that here.”
“Aw… You want to get rid of me already?”
“I’ve been wanting to be rid of you since we first met.”
“You wound me, my lady! And here I thought we finally hit it off!”
“I will neither wound you nor hit you so cut that out and answer me.”
“It’s really not that big a deal. I’m just sticking with you as I was ordered,” he shrugged.
“How long?”
“Until further notice, as you’ve, heh, probably noticed.”
“But you’re a witch hunter. Don’t you have witches to hunt?”
“I am, though.”
“But there’s no witches in these archives.”
“Says who?”
“… Says Eranos. He’s the only way in or out, and he’s never let in anyone who doesn’t deserve to be here.”
Nor was he likely to start any time soon. Fifteen wasn’t sure exactly how he did it, but by sampling her magic he was somehow able to gauge both her worth and intentions. Some of the more religiously inclined wizards would explain it as sensing if one’s gift has been stained by sin. Even the titan himself wasn’t sure how he did it, but there was no arguing with results. If a heretic tried to infiltrate, they’d be instantly transported to the facility’s prison wing and promptly subdued by the small army of custodians. There were technically other ways a nefarious party might slip in, but the odds of anyone successfully going around Eranos were so tiny it wasn’t worth considering. In short, this was one of the most secure places in the world, so there truly was no need for a witch hunter to be here. In fact, Tacitus might very well be the first of his kind to step foot in these halls.
“Doesn’t matter to me,” the man shrugged again. “Boss-lady says to watch your back until we return to Cherrytown, so that’s what I’m doing.”
“Even if it takes four to five months?”
That was how long she planned to stay here with Raela, which seemed an awfully long time to deprive the church of an elite enforcer.
“Even if it takes four to five months, yes. Looks like they judged you’re just that important. It’s a compliment, really, so I have no idea why you’re complaining.”
“… You do realize I’m well aware the threat against me is fabricated, right?”
“Wait, what?”
Raela’s head had been on a swivel ever since they arrived so she wasn’t really paying attention to the conversation, but she couldn’t ignore that claim.
“But only a big-time cult could organize that demon attack,” she argued, “and they’re not going to give up after just one attempt. Who knows what they’re capable of?”
“What she said,” Tacitus pointed at the girl.
“If it was a cult’s doing, yes. However, I’m quite certain the church has the resources to do the same, not to mention the motive.”
“What are you saying?! Why would the church attack us?!”
“Three reasons. First,” she held up one finger, “they want strong mages.”
It was something of a public secret. Mages were steadily dwindling in number, yet vital to the church’s never-ending efforts to contain, cleanse, and restore dust zones. Under these circumstances, it was only natural they’d emphasize quality over quantity, which brought Fifteen to her next point.
“Second,” she extended another finger, “they are aware of my methods.”
The Order of Ash was every bit as accountable to the Church of Dawn as any other mages’ guild. Audits, scrutiny, and inspection were commonplace. It was inconceivable that the clergy was not aware of the amplification or absorption techniques that Fifteen and her peers had been taught – the same ones she frequently used on the job. That ‘ambush’ certainly seemed authentic, but also strangely lackluster. That the enemy would send in a few creatures at a time as a warm-up instead of hitting Fifteen with the entire force from the get-go was either intentional or ridiculously inept. As a result, the only thing that assault accomplished was to feed her inner fire a dozen demons’ malleable essence. The cult that took over Roderick Asylum without anyone noticing could not be that incompetent. To begin with, if the goal was to actually kill her, it would surely be far more effective to attempt a more traditional assassination. It would make far more sense for the assault to be staged by the church in order to test or empower her without openly revealing their ability to call forth otherworldly beings – a highly heretical act by their own decrees.
“Lastly,” the sorceress held out a third digit, “they needed an excuse to watch me closely.”
Acolyte Two-Fifteen was growing at a dangerously fast rate. She was confident she could manage it, but from an outsider’s perspective it was natural to fear what would happen if she was seduced by dark powers or succumbed to madness. Put bluntly, the witch hunter wasn’t there to keep her safe from a cult, but to put her down should she go rogue. They even assigned her someone she already knew just so she’d let her guard down. Granted, all of that was just speculation on her part, but it was the most logical explanation for how and why Tacitus just so happened to be around when that laughably ill-conceived ambush happened. Or why he’d continue to stick to her even when the threat of heretic assault was practically nil.
Frankly, Fifteen hoped she was wrong. She wanted to believe that she was merely seeing patterns where there were none and that the Church of Dawn were beyond resorting to such shady and underhanded tactics. However, the witch hunter’s insistence on being useless for months on end was the last piece she needed to believe her own conspiracy theory. The sorceress could not fathom what their end goal was, and would certainly prefer they did things more openly, but could also understand the need for discretion. The demon summoning in particular. People’s trust in the church would plummet if they found out they could just conjure monsters from another reality at will. The temples themselves banned that practice as heretical and unethical. Yet they were human, after all, and humanity would not have survived this long if they did not get their hands dirty.
“The hell are you on about?” Tacitus scratched his helmet.
“I’m afraid I also don’t quite follow, Mistress,” Raela warily said. “Are you sure you’re not just being paranoid?”
It was no surprise that the witch hunter denied it, but it would seem even the apprentice was doubtful. On second thought, it was only natural she would be. She wasn’t in Fifteen’s head, and the sorceress often struggled to properly convey all her thoughts through words. She was certain she could make the girl see her point of view if she fully explained herself.
“… You might be right. Forget I said anything.”
However, explaining all that complicated stuff was a pain – literally, given her facial injury – and trying to convince either of the two was pointless. Brother Tacitus was probably in on it, and Raela was still a kid. It was foolish to expect anything from either of them. The only thing Fifteen wanted was to be actively included in whatever plans the church had for her instead of finding things out last second. Surprises and mages didn’t mix very well. Hopefully Tacitus would find a way to report her suspicions to his handlers and that would get the ball rolling in some way or another.
“We have arrived,” one of the custodians accompanying them declared. “You may use these rooms freely for the duration of your stay. Meals will be provided three times a day in the dining hall, and communal bathing facilities are available twice a week. Do not hesitate to ask a custodian if you have questions or needs.”
“What’s the status of the grimoire I requested?” Fifteen asked.
“It is currently being prepared. The head librarian will contact you when it is ready.”
“Understood. Raela, go ahead and get settled in. We’ll start your spell tutoring in an hour.”
“Really!? Alright!”
The girl merrily claimed the first room on the left – there were several on each side of the hallway – and found the interior quite satisfactory. It was spacious, cozy, and just a little bit fancy, with nice-looking furniture and a few lumenite lamps bathing it in a warm glow. This was by far the best room she’d been in since she ran away from home. The highlight was the huge round window on the far wall next to the bed, though the view from it was a little confusing. The clear, star-filled sky was certainly beautiful, but wasn’t it too early for that kind of scene? Even if she wasn’t sure where in the world the archives actually were geographically, it should have still been mid afternoon judging by the angle of those golden rays she saw in that first room with the glass tree. Even here she could clearly see a trickle of sunlight drape across the left-hand side of the floor, so how did the window show her a scene from the dead of night? The curious girl climbed onto the bed and peered through the glass in an effort to figure out this mystery, and then promptly regretted it.
Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine the Vigil Valley Archives were situated so far above the ground that it was practically in orbit, and that revelation didn’t sit well with her secret fear of heights.