Lyra closed her door and collapsed on her bed. She loved this school, the classes were so open and fun. She’d had a hard time getting the resonance she’d seen at the beginning of the day out of her head, but Professor Roberts had quickly distracted her and her classmates from their awe. Or fear, in some cases. Looking at you, Jack. Lyra was really looking forward to the rest of the year, but as fun as the day had been, it’d also been exhausting. She needed a break, her brain felt like putty.
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When she woke up the sky outside her window had been lit on fire by the sunset, and there was knocking at the door. Is this just going to be my life for the next few years? Lyra thought, Constantly being woken up by a knocking at my door. Maybe she yawned. Maybe if I don’t respond, it’ll just go away… She started to drift off again.
“WAKE UP SLEEPYHEAD!” Guess not
She got up and pulled the door open. Standing in the doorway was a small woman, arms on her hips and a mischievous smile playing across her face. You would destroy me and everything I love without a second thought, wouldn’t you? “Hello. Why did you wake me up?”
The girl adopted a fake-sympathetic expression, “Awwww, was baby sleeping? I’m sorry for waking you up, do you want to go back to sleep? I can tuck you in if you need it.”
“I’m good, thanks. Why are you knocking on my door at sundown?”
The girl smirked, “Well when else are we supposed to hit the city dumbass? My name is Alice, and I will be your humble guide for the evening.” She gave Lyra a mocking bow.
It took Lyra a second to remember what was going on. “You’re the senior who’s gonna show me the “exception” Professor Miller mentioned?” Lyra asked
“Oh you got Miller? Sick, he’s the best one! Easily the most laid-back, you’re gonna have a fun month.”
“No, I got Professor Roberts.”
“Oh you poor soul,” Alice said, with genuine sympathy, “He’s the strictest of them. Have fun with the next month. But yes, we’re here to show you the tunnels.”
“We?”
“Hello!” a hand waved across the open door frame, “I’m Riley, me and Alice are bringing your floor to the party.” ‘Riley’ was about as tall as Lyra, with a smile on their face and a generally laid back demeanour.
“And if we wanna be on time, we better get our asses in gear,” Alice said, “So get moving baby, we gotta go!”
“Do I have time to get ready?” Lyra aked
“Fuck no, should’ve thought about that before you took a nap like a little bitch.”
Lyra sighed, “Figures.”
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They met up with the rest of the hall group in the hallway. Liam looked nervous, he was sweating a lot. Selene looked vaguely amused, but Lyra thought she could detect a hint of nervousness in her posture. Adrian however…
“You know, for someone so small you have one hell of a dirty mouth,” Adrian said to Alice. Adrian looked a little like he wanted to murder someone. He also looked really tired. Note to self, do not wake Adrian up. Sacrifice Liam, he seems like he’d be up for it.
Riley winced, “That was of them.”
“Oh, am I fuckface? What’s it to you, you overtired looking wet roll of toilet paper,” Alice snarled
Adrian reared back, affronted. “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were so sensitive, princess,” They mocked, “I’ll shut my mouth now, don’t you worry.”
“PRINCESS- BITCH, I’M GONNA-” Riley had to grab Alice under her armpits, and when she started to make a gesture with her hands Riley’s eyes flashed.
“No, Alice,” They said, “We aren’t in combat class, and these are freshies. Be gentle.” Alice deflated.
“For the record, I don’t like that one.”
“Oh believe me princess, the feeling’s mutual,” Adrian replied
“Riley, sir, where are you seniors taking us?” Liam very obviously tried to redirect the conversation. He was sweating a lot for someone who hadn’t even been part of the argument.
“Drop the Sir, just call me Riley,” Riley said, “and we’re taking you off campus!”
Lyra spoke up, “I thought it was like, really really dangerous to go anywhere without a teacher.”
“It is if you’re a bitch,” said Alice
Riley rolled his eyes, “If you want to be safe you probably shouldn’t just wander around campus, especially during class time. It’s a lot safer after school ends, what with people not actively trying to call Omnis’ attention, but it’s not perfect. There are a few areas that are kept safe Professors and us seniors, the part of tunnels where we’re going being one of them.”
“So, when you say tunnels…”
“I mean magic tunnels,” Riley said, “We’re coming up on them now, it’ll just be easier to show you.” They stepped out of the dorm building, and Riley led them around the side of the building to a metal panel on the wall.
Selene leaned down to get a closer look. “It says do not enter on it.”
“Yeah, but who cares about what a dumb door says,” Alice said, “we’ve used it for years and it’s been fine.”
“It’s perfectly safe I promise,” Riley said, “Lemme just open it up for us.” They reached into their back pocket and stuck a ring face first into a little indentation in the centre of the metal. A ripple spread out from where it touched, and when it touched the edge the plate started to glow a warm gold. It grew brighter and brighter until, with the sound of a ringing gong, it flashed a bright gold. After Lyra had blinked the spots out of her eyes, she saw mist billowing out of the new hole in the ground, reaching up and curling around the group’s feet. A distant groan echoed from within the hole.
“That’s not worrying in the slightest,” Adrian commented
“Welcome to the tunnels, freshies,” Alice cackled, “Be careful with your feet, we don’t want you to lose them.”
“Is that a danger!?” Liam shrieked
Riley smacked Alice on the head, “I thought I told you to be nice to the freshies.”
“You said to be gentle, not nice.”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Riley pinched their nose and said to Liam, “No, you are not in danger of losing your feet in the tunnels. I promise you it’s safe. Now come on, let's get going.” No one made any moves towards the foreboding hole.
“Oh come on, don’t be a pussy,” Alice said. When no one moved towards the hole, she sighed. “Fine, I’ll go first if you’re all gonna be scaredy-cats about it.” She walked over to the hole, sat down on the edge, and hung her legs over the mist. It seemed to curl upwards along her legs, slowly rising out of the hole.
“OoOoOo, I’m gonna lose my legs, so scary.” she mocked
“Alice, just go in,” said an exasperated Riley.
“As you wish,” the gremlin cackled, and dropped in. The mist lifted itself and enveloped her as she fell down, making it look like she was swallowed by the mist. They didn’t hear her land.
“Did it just eat her?” Liam whispered
“Alright, who’s next?” asked Riley. When no one stepped forward, they pouted. “Come on, someone has to go.”
Lyra looked around, no one had stepped forward. She sighed, “I’ll go.”
“Bravo, Lyra!” Riley clapped their hands, “Now it’s a bit of a drop, so you’re gonna want to sit on the edge before you go down, and make sure to brace your legs.” Lyra gingerly sat down on the edge of the hole. I don’t know about this. The mist curled lazily along her calves, slowly making its way up her legs. Okay, here goes nothing. She took a deep breath, and pushed herself off the edge.
“Now what you’re gonna do is gently push off OH-” Riley’s voice was cut off when Lyra’s head went into the mist
When Lyra landed, she didn’t land on solid ground. It felt- springy almost, but her feet didn’t feel unsure. It was a very strange feeling. She was standing in a hallway made of fog, on a floor made of slightly darker fog, the whole “room” lit by a light that didn’t come from anywhere. When she moved around the rustling of her clothes was muffled, as if she was underwater, or they were far away.
“Hey, baby came first!” Lyra jumped at Alice’s voice. It had an odd echo to it, as if it was coming from down a long hallway, rather than 2 feet in front of her. “I honestly expected fuckface from earlier to be the first one down.”
“Who, Adrian?”
“Is that his name?”
Lyra gaped at her, “You’re a little bit of a bitch you know that?” Alice laughed
Selene landed screaming about 5 feet from Lyra’s left, “WHY THE FUCK DO YOU HAVE TO FALL?”
“Hahahahaha,” Alice cackled, “Welcome to the tunnels, freshie! Enjoy the entrance?”
“NO!”
Lyra trotted over and offered a hand, “You okay?”
Selene took it and pulled herself up, “I’ll be fine, just give me a second.”
Adrian fell down from above and landed gracefully next to Alice. They looked at eachother. Then they both made faces and backed away. Liam came down whimpering shortly after, curling into a fetal position as soon as he touched the ground.
“You know, you’re kind of a wimp for such a big guy,” Lyra said. Liam just groaned.
Riley fell down and landed catlike on their feet, “See, that wasn’t too bad! Now, be careful down here it’s easy to get lost. When in doubt, go towards the light.” They gestured behind them, where it seemed to be a little bit brighter.
“For some reason, the tunnels get lighter the closer you get to this entrance in particular. We don’t know why, but it’s handy if you get lost,” They elaborated.
“Don’t trust it all the time though,” Alice interjected, “Go far enough in and all the rules of this place go out the window.”
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They made their way through the tunnels till Riley found a ladder on the wall. They directed the rest of the group up, and when Lyra’s head breached through the tunnels she was immediately assaulted with noise.
“GAH-” Music was blaring, the base strong enough for Lyra to feel in her chest. She tumbled off the ladder and stumbled onto her feet.
“WHERE ARE WE?” she shouted over the din to Alice, who had gone up first.
“PARTY TIME BABYYYYYY” was all she got in response. That both did and did not answer my question.
Lyra had never been to a party before, Mother Garcia had never wanted her to be around a bunch of drunk and rowdy sailors. Probably one of her better policies, to be honest. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it. On the one hand, she loved the energy. There was so much going on, happy screaming and shouting, people dancing too much to loud music. It was the opposite of the suffocating quiet of the church and she loved that. But on the other hand, she didn’t know what she was supposed to do. She didn’t want to get drunk here, old stories Mother Garcia used to tell her to scare her away from going into taverns years ago flashing across her mind. Guess they worked. Selene collided with her, then stepped back and said something.
“WHAT?” Lyra yelled. Selene’s mouth moved
“I CAN’T- IT’S TOO LOUD- Here,” She grabbed Selene by the arm and pulled her through a side door into a dark alley, “What’s up?”
Selene blinked, and looked around at where she was. Then she started laughing, doubling over and holding herself up on the wall. Sages, her laugh is pretty.
“I just wanted to- ha- ask if you wanted to get away from the noise, and you just pull me out into the alley before I could even ask! Oh Tower, that’s hilarious.”
Lyra started blushing, and reached up to rub the back of her neck, “It was loud! I wanted to hear what you had to say!” She realised she was still holding Selene’s arm, and quickly let go.
Selene put her hand on Lyra’s shoulder and leaned on her still trying to keep upright, “It’s, it’s okay it’s just funny how ahead of the game you are.” she gasped out. Lyra shuffled awkwardly.
“So, what now?” Lyra asked. She got a puzzled look from a still giggling Selene in response. “I mean, we’re out of the party. Did you have anywhere you wanted to go? We can’t go back to the University, they didn’t show us how to get around in the tunnels.”
“Didn’t they?” Selene asked, “Follow the light till it’s brightened all the way, right?”
“Do you want to try and navigate by light level? I don’t, that’s like the most vague thing ever. Besides, we don’t have that ring thing to open the door.”
“Fair enough,” Selene shrugged, “I’ll be honest, I didn’t really think about what I wanted to do. I just know the party was way too loud.”
“I know right” Lyra said, “I mean, did they really have to make it so loud? I could literally feel the bass shaking the ground.”
Selene nodded, “Yeah it was crazy.”
They stood there for a moment in an awkward silence. Selene broke it, “Do you wanna just…wander around maybe?”
“What, in the middle of the night?”
“I’m sure you’ll protect me.” What the fuck does that mean.
Lyra blinked, “I- Sure, okay. If you’re fine with the risk.”
Selene latched onto Lyra’s arm and smiled up at her, “What risk?” The risk to my little gay heart, Selene.
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Lyra could barely recognize Waypoint City after sundown. The normally bustling streets were empty and silent, eerily so. There were lights on in the houses, but curtains were generally closed and there weren’t any late night returns, or late night parties, or any night life at all from the residents in the city. The only people who seemed to be around, out and about, were other students of the University. It seemed like most of them were at the party though, so she and Selene had the City almost to themselves.
“It’s so…quiet,” Selene said
“Mm,” Lyra
Selene looked up at her, “I’m not sure if I like it. The city’s normally so busy, and I’ve never really been out after dark. It always felt a little taboo.”
“If it makes you nervous, we can go back to the party,” Lyra said
Selene shook her head, “No no, I like it! Feel like a little rebel, y’know? And it’s nice to see these streets in the dark.” She unlatched herself from Lyra’s arm and twirled with her arms out, face pointing to the sky. Lyra chuckled.
“You were born here?”
“Mmm.” she made an affirmative noise, “Been here my whole life!”
“Why are you in the dorms then?”
“I just…” Selene sighed, “I wanted to get away from my parents, you know? I love them, but I hate living with them.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Lyra said
Selene grabbed Lyra’s hand, and loosely held it. “Should I ask?”
Lyra huffed out a little laugh. “I don’t mind.” She took a breath. “Not much to talk about, really. My birth parents died in a dock fire, and I was raised by a church in Stalport.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It was a long time ago. Don’t even remember them, really.”
Selene frowned. “That’s really sad.”
“It’s okay,” Lyra squeezed Selene’s hand, and gave her a melancholy smile. “I’ve had 19 years, I’ve come to terms with it.”
They walked for a while, hand in hand, a warm silence enveloping them. Lyra felt…at peace, for the first time since she’d left the church. For all that she’d hated it there, with its to-small walls and stifling silence, it was familiar. Nothing in Waypoint City was familiar. It was all…new, and so very exciting, but just as tiring.
“Look at that,” Selene said from Lyra’s left, “The sun is rising!”
“What? Has it been that long?”
“Must be, see?” Selene pointed towards an orange glow off in the distance, “The night passed quickly, huh.”
“Yeah…” Lyra squinted. Something felt off.The night can’t have passed that quickly, could it? I swear it was sundown just a couple of hours ago. Lyra turned her head, looked around. Something about the direction…“Hang on, is that East?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, the sun rises from the East, but it isn’t rising from the East right now. Is it?” Lyra said, “I might’ve gotten turned around, I am kind of new to the city.”
“It must be, right? That is weird though,” Selene said, “I feel like East should be that way, which would make that…North? Roughly?” She spent a moment looking around, muttering to herself and getting her bearings. She looked at Lyra, “Yeah, it looks like it’s coming from the North. That shop over there is on the south end of the city. What do you think it is?”
Lyra started to get a sinking feeling in her stomach. “Hey-” her voice cracked, “Where’d the stars go?”
“What?”
Lyra pointed. “There’s like a whole patch of the sky where you can’t see stars.”
Selene turned to look. “Yeah, there is… What do you think it means?”
“I think-” Lyra broke off.
“I think there’s a fire.” This didn’t feel real. Lyra felt her breathing quicken, her body responding to the fear. She felt her eyes go into greater focus, darting around her, taking in everything but not processing any of it. She felt- numb, like she’d just fallen into a pool of water. Everything felt distanced from her, she could feel herself shaking.
“What should we do?” Selene whispered
“We should-” Her voice broke. Lyra licked her lips, dry, then more strongly said, “We should go to the fire.”
“What!? Why would we run towards the fire!?” Selene whisper-shouted
“We’re going to be Mages right?” Lyra was shaking, much harder now. “Mages are supposed to help, right?”
“‘To be a Mage is to be in service to the people,’” Selene bit her lip, then took a deep breath and nodded, “Okay. We go to the fire.”
Neither of them moved, too scared to take the first step. Then, Lyra tightened her grip on Selene’s hand and let go. She started to run towards the orange light, the city slowly waking from it's slumber around her.