A blast of magic slammed into her back, sending her flying through the air.
Velaya landed with a crack, her right wrist snapping after bracing her impact. It took a few seconds before the piercing pain that ripped through her arm and up into her shoulder assaulted her, and during that moment she rolled herself over onto her back to face her assailant.
She only had time to register a large form wearing the Tides, the hood up and a hand outstretched towards her, a black cloud of smoke around their fingers - before a second blast of magic launched her twenty feet backwards.
More cracking as she landed in a heap on her back. Agony. Pain unlike any she had known before locked her in a vice. She knew she had broken some ribs, and her arm lay limp beside her.
She had cried out from the first blast, but no sound came from her. Worse than that, she could no longer feel her mana pool. It hadn’t dried up - it was still there, she just had no access to it. It was as though it had been locked behind a door and trying as hard as she could to open it, it refused to budge. She knew immediately what it was.
She’d been hit by a powerful curse of Dark magic. One that had the ability to silence its victims, blocking their ability to access their mana and effectively permitting them from spellcasting. Stronger than the pain, a flooded sense of panic threatened to overtake her completely.
She attempted to push herself up onto her elbow but could only manage to lift her body a few inches off the ground. It was just enough to see the large figure stalking slowly towards her, a long dagger held in their right hand.
“Not so fun is it,” a low, growling male voice said. “To be utterly helpless. Unable to defend yourself.”
She tried to crawl backwards, desperate to put space between them, but could only shuffle away a few inches.
“Perhaps the head of his daughter will finally force King Rosemore to act. He can’t stay holded up in his keep forever, while the Corruption spreads.”
He stood over her and she could see his auburn eyes wide and wild, dark hair falling across his face. Three long and wide scars stretched from his scalp, across his face, down his neck and disappeared under his shirt.
“He has no idea what it’s like. To lose everyone you care about,” he spat next to her. “But I’ll show him. I’ll cut your fucking head off and shove it down his Gods damned throat if I have to.”
He reached down and grabbed her by the neck, hoisting her into the air. Gasping for air, her eyes bulging, she thrashed wildly against him, attempting to land a kick or punch. Anything to break his unforgiving hold. He threw his head forward, slamming his forehead into her nose. Another sickening crack, as blood and tears streamed down her face, a silent scream ripping her bruised and throbbing throat. He threw her to the ground, and straddled over her, holding his dagger out.
Pain clouded her vision, his body blurring and sharpening before her. Dread suffocated her mind. It was at that moment, she knew she was going to die. That she would never see her family again - her parents, her brother. Their last memories of saying goodbye as they sent her off to Manatide Tower - the beloved school she had so desperately wanted to attend. A place that, from the moment she arrived, had felt right to her. Right down through her core, her very soul - her mana thumping along with Aesor’s veins.
Aesor’s veins. The ley lines of pure, raw magical power that ran below the island’s surface.
As the man reached down, grabbing a clump of hair from the back of her head, forcing it up and bringing his dagger to her throat - she reacted.
Instead of reaching inwards to access her silent mana pool, she reached outwards - towards the magic of the island and the ley lines below. Suddenly, unimaginable power flooded through her veins and with this power she called out to the Light. It responded instantly and she used every bit of that power to force the Light against the Dark that had a chokehold over her. The door to her mana pool blew open, unlocked from the blast of dispelling Light.
With her mana pool restored, even as weak as she was, it reacted on its own, forced into action by her wild, terrified desperation. She was distantly aware of the Elemental magic drawn into her and the release of it up and out towards her attacker.
Pointed shards of ice, as sharp as Trelladain steel, speared through the air between them, knocking the man off her and sending him flying backwards.
The world was still, only the sounds of her beating heart thundered in her ears. Barely able to hold her head up, she looked to where he had fallen and this time a small, choking cry escaped her.
He lay ten feet away, his body pierced by hundreds of jagged icicles that jutted high into the air and pinned him to the ground, soaking the grass beneath him in blood. His glazed eyes were still open, wide and unseeing.
A wave of nausea flooded through her body. She managed to turn her head to the side and wretched. Only bile came up, scorching her throat. She was too weak to move. Her mana was empty, unable to afford her any strength. She lay twisted on her side as surges of horror drowned and dulled her senses. She was close to losing consciousness and could feel herself slipping into a blissful darkness, the pain dimming.
She was vaguely aware of strong hands grasping her shoulders and gently rolling her onto her back properly. She heard a sharp intake of breath and a curse. Green eyes full of fear and anger, hovered above her - fading in and out of focus. She knew those eyes. Relief swept through her as tears from her own rolled down the sides of her face.
“Vel,” Athone’s voice was soft, taut. His cold hands moved from her shoulders and gently cradled her face, his thumbs sweeping the tears from her cheeks. “Velaya? Can you hear me?”
She tried to respond, but was unable to offer more than a hoarse croak. He swore again and she felt his arms gently slide under her back and knees and a moment later was held against his chest as he stood cradling her body. She whimpered in pain, her ribs rubbing against his firm embrace.
“I know it hurts Vel, I’m going to get you help. Stay with me,” he whispered into her hair. “Please stay with me.”
She’d never heard him speak like that before. He was always so confident and sure but now he sounded lost and desperate. She felt a pain deep within her chest, below her broken ribs. A different kind of hurt she didn’t recognize.
She wanted to close her eyes, fall asleep and never feel anything again. They were heavy and she only caught glimpses of a soft blue aura between slow blinks. Athone must be carrying her towards the Tower.
She heard him yell, but couldn’t make out the words, only that it seemed like he was trying to get someone’s attention. A moment later the jostling of her body against his arms and chest steadied. He’d come to a stop and she could hear a set of other voices. She heard cursing. Summoning every bit of strength she had remaining she clung to the voices, desperately trying to stay conscious.
“Where?” a sharp, deep feminine voice. Magus Tessa.
“On the field beyond the fourth year residences, between the Great Hall,” Athone’s chest rumbled against the side of her face.
“I’ll wake Ena,” a third voice, the same one she did not recognize from the Great Hall earlier, followed by sounds of feet and clothing shuffling about.
Crooked glasses perched on a rounded nose swam into her vision as Magus Ossacus’ concern-filled turquoise eyes roamed over her face and body. He reached out softly, placing his long fingers across her chest. A green glowing overtook her vision and all the pain racking through her disappeared, replaced by a calming warmth. Her body went limp in Athone’s arms. She was dreadfully tired.
“She’s completely depleted her mana pool and is in desperate need of nutrition. Let’s get her inside.”
The calm, soothing voice of Magus Ossacus’ was the last thing she heard before she submitted to blackness.
~~~
She was lying in a bed. Her senses slow to wake, her eyes too heavy to open. She could feel something cool but soft in her left hand, laced between her fingers. The mattress below her was forgiving, absorbing her achy body. She didn't feel the agonising pain from before but every part of her felt tired, heavy. Something was attached to her right arm, sticking into the inside of her elbow.
She didn't know where she was. Her mind was foggy, clouded over. She tried to push them away, to understand and to remember but couldn't. The sound of voices echoed from across what must be a large room.
“Three broken ribs, wrist, nose and a severe laryngeal fracture. It's a wonder she could breathe,” Magus Ossacus said solemnly. “I’ve treated all physical injuries and set a drip of sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium and lactate. When she wakes, she'll need a mana potion to replenish her pool and a full meal. She's also suffered a third grade concussion, likely from her head hitting the ground. I’m afraid only time can mend that.”
“And what of her magical wounds?” a clear, but deeply fatigued voice said. The clouds shifted in her head and she placed the speaker as Archmagus Ena.
“None, but she had been affected by a very powerful Curse of Silence before it was dispelled. I’ve cleansed what remained of it,” Magus Ossacus said.
Magus Tessa’s voice drifted over. “Who dispelled it? I thought the young Prince didn’t arrive until after.”
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“I can only assume that she did,” replied Magus Ossacus.
“That’s not possible,” Magus Tessa sounded sceptical. “If she had completely succumbed to the curse she wouldn’t have been able to dispel it. There’s no denying that the girl is powerful but she is yet untrained in the school of Dark magic. She cannot shield her mind from even a simple control.”
“How else would you explain the ice?” Magus Ossacus questioned. “If she was able to draw on the Elements, then she must have broken the curse.”
“How is that possible?” Magus Tessa said.
“The ley lines,” the Archmagus said softly. She sounded as tired as Velaya felt.
It was strange that, even with her senses obscured, she could feel the stunned silence. The softness in her hand felt momentarily firm. She focused her attention on it and could begin to make out what felt like fingers. Someone was holding her hand.
“What did Ashaula and Edward say?” came a male voice she didn’t recognize. But those names she did. Those were her parents they were speaking of. Again the clouds over her mind shifted and she cracked her eyes open a sliver.
Soft orange light flooded her vision and she had to blink a few times to clear it. She did not yet have the strength to move her head, but she saw that she was in the infirmary. To her left she could just see the form of a man sitting in a chair near her bed, the one who must currently be holding her hand. She couldn’t see much else other than purple drapes that had been drawn around her bed. The voices of the Magi were coming from beyond them.
“King and Queen Rosemore were distraught, as was to be expected. They insisted on seeing her but of course I could not accommodate their demands. I will speak with her when she wakes in order to obtain the rest of the story,” the Headmistress said.
Velaya couldn’t understand why her parents had wanted to see her. She was at Manatide Tower and that wasn’t possible. Only those with mana could travel here. But they were talking about injuries and curses and ice. Something must have happened to her and that’s why she was in the school’s hospital. She closed her eyes again, desperate to chase away the fog and to remember what had happened.
“Magus Tytus, have you taken care of Davis Leroy’s body?” Archmagus Ena said a moment later.
“Yes, I have done as you instructed. King Arthur will meet with you for eleven,” came the unknown voice.
King Arthur. That was Athone’s father. The King of Ayradora. And Tytus - that name was familiar too. Velaya could remember reading about him. He taught the Shamans at Manatide. She had been looking forward to meeting him. But who was Davis Leroy and what was this about a body?
Velaya’s eyes snapped open and she flung herself forward in bed as the memories of the night crashed over her, wave after wave beating against her.
“Velaya!” Athone’s cries of surprise came from her left. He had been sitting next to her a moment ago, his fingers intertwined with hers but he was standing now, his hand resting on her shoulder, gently attempting to lower her back onto the mattress.
“Vel, it’s ok. You’re safe. Just relax. Lay back down,” Athone said softly.
She fought against his restraint, turning to face him, fear rippling through her body, her blue eyes wide.
“Is he dead?” she croaked, her voice raw, damaged - barely louder than a whisper.
Athone’s face, originally soft and full of relief, hardened.
When he spoke his voice had a firmer edge to it. “Lay down Vel, lest you tear your drip out.”
An oppressive and overwhelming force began to smother her, as tears welled in her eyes.
“No. No he can’t be,” she rasped, shaking her head slowly and staring up at him, intensely searching his eyes, terrified of finding the truth within.
Athone’s green eyes seemed to dull, his brows rose up slightly as his mouth thinned, telling her all she needed to know.
The sound of quick footsteps forced her to look away as the curtains at the base of her small bed were pulled back. Archmagus Ena was accompanied by the Magi Tessa, Osaccus and a tall, muscular man with a thick brown beard and bald head that could only be Tytus.
The Headmistress looked exhausted. She had deep purple circles around her periwinkle eyes, her normally bluish tinted skin was as white and pale as Tessa’s. Her stunning face was gaunt and tight with strain, yet when she spoke her voice was as strong and clear as ever.
“Miss Rosemore, you’re awake.” Velaya did not miss the sound of relief from her, nor the soft exhale from Magus Tessa.
The Druid healer, Magus Ossacus, moved past the other Magi to stand at Velaya’s side, opposite Athone. He gently lifted her arm to look at where the needle from the drip was. “Please lay down my dear. You have been through a tremendous ordeal and must relax for your body to recover.”
Velaya ignored him, her eyes still locked on Archmagus Ena’s. “Did I kill him?” she pleaded, silently begging for the Headmistress to deny her of the truth.
“Everyone, please leave us,” Archmagus Ena said.
Magus Tessa and Tytus turned and left, whispering quietly to one another. Magus Ossacus pulled a rounded bottle full of a thick, royal blue coloured liquid with a cork stopper from his apron pocket and set it on the small table beside her bed before leaving. Athone stood firmly beside her. His hand was still resting on her shoulder. Archmagus Ena stared at him for a moment but did not ask him again to leave, and he relaxed a moment later.
She walked around to the same side Ossacus had just vacated, her white hair gently flowing behind her as she took a seat at the end of the bed and settled near Velaya’s feet. Athone sat back down on the stool he’d been sitting on earlier.
“How do you feel?” the Archmagus said softly.
Her heart was racing, the discomfort she felt an afterthought. Flashes of glassy, unseeing auburn eyes and pools of blood suddenly overwhelmed her. Her breathing was too short, too shallow. She felt as though she couldn’t catch her breath. She needed air. She needed to escape this room. Escape the eyes on her.
Velaya tried to get up but the Archmagus’s hands reached out, a soft darkness wrapping around her fingers as she gently placed them on Velaya’s shoulders. A strange sense of calm took her, easing her rising panic. Her breathing became full again. Guided by the Headmistress's touch, she lay back down into the pillows that held her propped up. When Ena removed her hands, the calming sensation remained.
“Magus Ossacus spoke true, you have been through a terrible ordeal, Miss Rosemore,” she said, settling back to her seated position at the end of the bed. “But I’m afraid I must speak with you regarding the events of last night, if you are able?” Velaya nodded. “Thank you. I would like to hear exactly what happened.”
And so Velaya, inspired by the calm serenity that had blissfully wrapped around her, told her everything that happened. She started with her need for food driving her from her bed and to the Great Hall. She skipped over the portion of her overhearing the Magi’s conversation and went straight to the rest of the story. The man’s surprise attack, the words he said, the loss of her ability to access her mana pool. When she told her about drawing power from the ley lines, she did not react with surprise in the same way that Athone did. She told her of how she’d used that power to fuel her Lighted dispel of the Curse of Silence and set free her trapped mana pool. When she began to speak about the Elemental reaction, her burst of frozen magic, she hesitated.
“With your mana restored, it reacted on its own accord, along with the power of Aesor’s veins to protect you,” the Headmistress said for her and she nodded.
Archmagus Ena turned to Athone then, her voice sharp, “That’s when you found her?”
“Yes madam. I was still awake when I saw her through the window crossing the school grounds. It took me a few minutes to dress and by the time I left our dormitory she had disappeared. I went to follow her to the Great Hall and that’s when I saw the tray of food discarded on the ground and heard their struggle.”
Vealay turned to Athone. “You were following me?”
“Yes, when I saw you alone at night I -” he cleared his throat, his rosy cheeks flushing, “I wanted to ensure that you were alright.”
When Archmagus Ena stood suddenly, both of them were quick to turn their attention back to her. She had retrieved the potion on the table and held it out for Velaya.
“You will need to drink this,” she said sternly. “It will restore your mana pool. Without knowing how deep your well is, we were unsure of how much you required, but this should be enough to help you regain your strength.”
Velaya took the potion from her, cradling it in her lap.
“You will also need to eat something. It is far too dangerous to allow yourself to go too long without food. Each year’s common buildings are stocked with a pantry full of offerings. You need not travel all the way to the Great Hall.”
It was Velaya’s turn to blush, and she averted her gaze. She hadn’t thought to check their year’s common building. She’d yet to even go inside.
“What of her parents?” Athone said.
The Archmagus let out a tired sigh and Velaya looked back up at her. “Upon hearing of the incident I teleported to them and informed them of what I knew.”
“Will they be coming here?” Athone said.
“No, that is not possible,” when Athone looked as though he was going to say something, she ignored him and continued speaking to Velaya. “The events of last night were disturbing and I have implemented more security measures across the island but I will understand if you feel more comfortable returning to them. I can make arrangements for your dismissal-”
“No!” Velaya cried suddenly, and the calmness that had been soothing her threatened to unravel as a new sense of panic began to set in. “No, please Headmistress. I wish to stay. Please tell my parents that I am alright.”
She could feel Athone’s anger from beside her, but she only looked desperately up at the Archmagus.
Achmagus Ena softened. “I will let them know, but I will only permit you to stay under one condition.”
“Anything!”
“You will study with me for a few hours each week.”
Velaya sat there stunned. It was unprecedented. The Magi of the school were there to help all students but the Archmagus never intervened to teach anyone directly.
“It would be my honour, Headmistress.”
Archmagus Ena nodded. “I will be meeting with your parents - both of your parents,” she cast a glance at Athone. “Rest yourself, and be sure to eat something. You are both excused from your classes today. I shall return to check in on you later.”
“Ok.”
The Headmistress moved towards the end of the bed. “If you require anything for the pain or discomfort do not hesitate to speak with Magus Ossacus.”
Velaya nodded again as Archmagus Ena parted the curtains then paused. She turned back to face her and Athone.
“Once I leave the island, my Soothing will be released. I encourage you to lean on the support of your friends during this time. Unfortunately many of them have endured horrors not unlike what you have experienced. Please take care of yourself.”