“Are you ready, Young Master?” Edward half-turned and spoke over his shoulder, his right hand resting on the spine of a peculiar-looking book within the depths of the main Aldritch library.

Anakin took a deep breath. “Yes.” he shot Edward a glance, “You may proceed.”

Edwards’ response was a swift tug on the book’s spine. A stint of silence briefly enveloped the two, followed by a cacophony of creaks and groans.

The bookshelf standing in front of them slowly slid away, revealing a descending flight of stairs, and a gust of musty, earthy air whirled past their faces, causing their hair to flutter.

Words were scarce between the two of them as they plunged into the hidden depths, and the only noises audible were the crackling of the torched gothic sconces, and the ringing of their footsteps on the cobbles.

Soon they reached what seemed like the entrance to a cavern and Anakin’s eyes immediately narrowed. He’d never seen this part of the manor before.

The Aldritch Manor was an oasis for secret passageways and hidden chambers, that was something he’d long since learned. But this one…this one was different from all the others.

It gave him a sinister feeling, as if treading into it absentmindedly would cause him to quietly vanish as if he’d never existed. There were other feelings mixed into that too, but he couldn’t place his finger on any of them. It was odd.

Edward waved his hand, and the passageway behind them suddenly evaporated, plunging them into the twilight that buried the rest of the cavern.

“Stay close, Young Master.” Edward voiced before muttering something incoherent. A sudden burst of orange pierced the twilight, and a stream of flames materialized in the shape of a bird above them.

Anakin’s eyes glittered looking at it, but his fascination was cut short by its abrupt change in direction. It flew opposite their position, and Anakin kept hot on its tails, making sure he was within a foot of Edward at all times.

Except for the little circle of light encircling them, all Anakin could see was pitch black darkness. The air was frigid too, but the warmth the flaming bird radiated kept the cold at bay.

Instinctively, Anakin’s mouth opened several times, wanting to voice the million questions frolicking within his mind, but he remained quiet, already predicting half of Edward’s responses.

Edward wouldn’t answer any of his questions about magic, whatever way he’d ask. It was something he peeved, but he knew there was little he could do about it. Edward, to his knowledge, was acting on his father’s orders and that was law.

In truth, the only thing that answered his questions about magic were his books. Granna and his parents were always dismissive of his magical questions, hiding behind the irrefutable statement of ‘You’re much too young to learn about that. When you’re older, everything will become clear.’

He’d heard it far too many times, and at some point he subconsciously started to build a wall around his curiosity, stuffing it within the darkest crevices of his mind. Unanswered questions could drive any man mad, and Anakin wasn’t about to test his own limits.

Though, the nearer his Ignition ritual drew, the faster he found the wall crumbling. His parents had painted the ritual as the event that would mark his introduction to the magical world, so he’d been anticipating it for as long as he could remember.

Anakin went through a mental list of the questions he wanted to ask, crossing out any he was sure would garner him no answer, and eventually settling on one that wasn’t too magical or too far down the list.

“Edward.”

“Yes, Young Master.” Edward slowed his pace and glanced over his shoulder.

“Where exactly are we?” Anakin cocked a brow, “And why is it so dark? Are we still at the manor?”

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There was a pregnant silence, during which Anakin was already sighing internally at his failed attempts at probing, before Edward replied.

“The simple answer is yes, Young Master. We are still within the manor’s grounds…” Edward and the flaming bird took an abrupt turn to the right, and Anakin followed.

“However, a more accurate answer is that we are both within the manor’s grounds and outside it, in somewhere very far away.”

What does that even mean? Anakin’s brows creased deeply. “I’m not quite sure I’m following.” he voiced his confusion.

“That’s understandable, Young Master.” Edward’s tone gave the impression that he was unsurprised. “It’s quite difficult to explain to you at the moment. Your magical knowledge is…insufficient.”

Thanks, I certainly wasn’t aware of that. “What’s it used for besides Ignition rituals? Do you know?” Anakin inquired further.

Edward took another abrupt right, still hot on the tail of the flaming bird, before answering, “Yes I do in fact know.” he quickened his pace.

“This place is where the family keeps its deepest secrets — whatever they don’t want others finding out at all costs. You can think of it as a heavily guarded safe. Except, it is impossible to find unless your father wills it.”

Interesting. “What sort of secrets? Everything magic I assume?” Realization dawned on Anakin as he spoke. That had to be it. Nearly ten years of scouring all the Aldritch libraries had led to finding nothing but theoretical books about magic, nothing concerning its usage.

Anakin had thought it to be unusual, and this recent discovery made the perfect answer as to where all that missing knowledge was hidden.

“Precisely, Young Master.” Edward confirmed, “Arcane and magical scripts that cannot be found anywhere else, important records, artifacts too powerful to be kept elsewhere, relics from a forgotten past…you’ll find them all here.”

Edward’s response spawned a million more questions in Anakin’s head, and he had to gather all the self-control he could muster to refrain from asking them all at once. Powerful artifacts? Forgotten Relics? He needed explanations.

“What do you mean by….”

He quickly formulated a question, but his words trailed off when he noticed the large wisps of light suddenly appearing within his vision.

They were of numerous colors, emerging around the cavern’s ceiling, and they quickly illuminated his surroundings, enabling him to finally observe it.

Anakin’s eyes widened, eyeing it. Besides the cobbles on which he trod, it was all water. Stagnant crystal-clear water with swirls of darkness moving haphazardly underneath its surface. The water’s eerie nature made the hairs all over Anakin’s body tingle.

Definitely not drinkable…or swimmable

He glanced at Edward and the flaming bird. They were still moving, unfazed, as if nothing had changed. Anakin mouthed another question, but Edward cut him off.

“We’re here.” he muttered, and the next moment a twenty-foot door suddenly appeared in front of them.

The door was a massive structure of stone and iron, with intricate glowing carvings etched into mystical patterns across its surface. There was a large silvery ‘A’ engraved between the door’s obsidian handles, and it radiated light that gave Anakin a nostalgic feeling, as if he’d found his long lost home.

Weird. Anakin absentmindedly placed a hand on his chest, and peered at the carvings closer, attempting to discern what exactly they were.

Edward walked up to the door, turned to face him, and dispersed the flaming bird.

“Come closer, Young Master.” he said, then pointed to the ‘A’ on the door. “And place your hand on it.”

It took Anakin less than five footsteps to reach it, and he immediately reached for it, paying no heed to the hushed murmurings he began to hear as his hand got closer to it.

It was calling him

The moment he made contact with it, a sudden rush of cold jolted him back to reality, and he immediately felt his body’s temperature drop several degrees.

Anakin instinctively took a step back, feeling the sudden change, and his breathing became erratic.

“Good luck, Young Master.” Edward’s voice thrust him into a well of confusion, and just as he was about to question him, he noticed something unsettling.

His hands were dissolving into little motes of silvery light. He quickly looked at Edward, who was waving at him, a faint smile smeared across his wrinkled face.

Arlo, son of Adgar, scion of the Aldritch name. A deep, lordly voice suddenly reverberated, The Chantry of Hermes welcomes you.