Lia shrugged. “Whatever makes you most deadly and defensive. We will begin with archery then since Barak has already declared he wishes to assess your ability in that department. But first…I will show you the magic.” Lia turned away from the table and melted into the shadows beyond the pillars that circled the cavern and supported the balconies overhead. She whisked into a dark corridor which branched into several passages.
At one point, she found a lit torch which was carried in her hand until she halted before a sealed, steel door. Lia knocked once. Twice. A shuffling sounded from the other side. A moment later, a peephole in the door popped open and a round, green eye was seen beyond. The eye twinkled at the sight of Lia. A muffled voice from beyond the door said, “My dear girl Lia! Do come in!”
The door swung open and they found a small, spry, man of an age Cam thought to be around fifty standing before them. A single sword was placed at his hip. Though he did not look deadly, Cam knew that he must be, for only the deadliest would be assigned to protect the realm’s source of power.
The man’s eyes glanced over Cam and Fiera. “Newcomers?” Lia nodded. “Ah. Then I suppose you want to see the magic.” He ushered the group inside and closed the door. He turned an iron key in the lock and returned the key to his glove. Cam found the room they had entered to be small with a fire lit in a hearth, a rocking chair before it, and several comfortable animal skins scattered about the stone floor. Beyond this room, Cam could not distinguish other passages or doors. Only darkness. “This way.” The man turned, grasped a torch in his left hand, and jumped.
Jumped right into the darkness, the light of the torch going with him. Lia acted unsurprised. “Come,” she said with the beckon of a hand. Cam and Fiera followed as Lia approached the edge what seemed to be a crater or deeper cavern. All was dark below them except for a flickering light which seemed far away. Lia knelt at the edge of the drop and grasped a rope which was tied to a metal ring in the stone.
Lia flashed Cam and Fiera a small before she threw herself over the edge with her body wrapped around the rope. Fiera and Cam shared a questioning glance before both shrugged. Cam grasped the rope first. “Don’t die,” Fiera said. Cam grinned wryly before she pushed herself from the ledge and slid into darkness.
She had expected to become enveloped in coolness. She was descending into darkness after all. But instead, she felt a gradually growing warmth. Her skin was heated as her thighs and fingers clenched around the rope. Cam had no expectations of how long she was to slide. She descended at a rapid pace, but still, the incline seemed to dip forever.
Finally, just as beads of moisture were appearing on her brow, her feet hit a hard surface and she found she could not stand on solid substance. She shook the rope to signal to Fiera that she could now descend. When Cam's eyes roved the expanse around her, she found Lia and the stooped man holding torches while leaning against another door.
When Fiera’s boots thumped against the stone, the man’s hand found the handle to a small, dark door. He pushed it and the door swung open silently, revealing a room beyond.
Cam peered over Lia's shoulder into the cavern and found it wasn't really a cavern at all. They were in the heart of the mountain itself. One who would first peer into this secret room would see one of two things. They would either see a mass of gray ash or a mass of a shimmering substance. The truth is, the magic within was a mixture of both. The substance felt mostly like ordinary ash but darker in its shade of gray. Among the ash were small sparkles of golden dust. Stardust.
Fiera saw the stardust first. Cam saw the gray ash. Of course, in a matter of seconds both saw both. It is said that those who see the stardust first are to be true warriors of Cinis Lumen. A notable fact about the magic was that it piled to the ceiling of blackened rock.
“Try it,” Lia murmured. Cam felt a cool object being pressed into her hand. She popped the top of the vial off and downed the substance within.
The sensations came slowly. First, the veins seemed to tremble. Seconds later, they were infused with the substance and seemed to be set with fire. One by one, Cam felt all of her senses coming to life, as if they had just been dozing. First, her sight. She could see the ash and stardust in intricate detail even from several feet off. Her hearing soon came into sharper focus. She could hear breathing as if it were mild speaking. Her sense of smell picked up the odor of sweat. The skin against her clothing and the vial felt suddenly more aware. She could feel every particle of her clothing pressed against and around her.
The taste of the substance remaining in her mouth was more unpleasant than it had been when she swallowed it. When she had swallowed it, Cam tasted nothing. Only felt its dry texture. Now, she tasted something vaguely metallic, vaguely burning. She could not place the taste. She turned to see her sister’s reaction. Fiera’s eyes were widened.
Lia smiled. “Once made an official citizen of Cinis Lumen, each person receives a vial at an annual ceremony. The vial is for the next year. If one runs out of magic, they receive no replacement. So be wise with how you chose to use it. There are side effects to using the magic for the first time. You will feel light headed and easily exhausted after using it in training or combat, but you will adapt eventually.”
“It enhances all senses,” Fiera stated. “Even when painful sensations bombard them?”
Lia nodded. “That is the disadvantage to using the magic. The magic is better put to use when spying, sneaking and other such ventures.”
“Where does this come from?” Cam inquired.
The man who still held the torch replied, “The stardust falls from the sky and is gathered by our people. Others may gather it but it is of no use unless fused with the ash. The ash comes from mines deep within this mountain. Even farther down than we are now. We do not know why it has the abilities that it has or why it can activate when combined with the stardust.”
“It seems entirely random,” Fiera remarked. “How could anyone have developed the formula?”
“An accident,” he said. He gave a slight shrug before explaining. “It was a little boy who was playing, experimenting with whatever he found. He ate it much to his mother’s dismay. Then, he found he had powers.” The man chuckled. “This was many years ago. Now we all consume it.”
“Even you?” Cam asked.
“Especially me. I am the guard; the keeper of magic. I must be more alert than anyone else.”
Lia addressed the man. “Barak has ordered me to bring a small supply for next week’s final stage of training.” She glanced towards Cam. “When you will use the magic for your own quest.”
Twenty-Five
The last stage of training occurred a week later after days full of
mastering weapons and games in forests and fields. Cam never imagined her body could be so sore from partaking in games on a daily basis. The trainees assembled in the empty volcano an hour after the light had departed.
Cam shivered slightly as she watched persons fasten ropes to the top of the volcano. “Tonight, we’re playing a game in which we’ll be divide into two teams. Kane will be captain of one and I of the other,” Barak announced.
“The rules are simple,” Kane stated. “One team is offense and the other is defense. The defensive team will be stationed in the old, abandoned castle in the forest south of here with a small chest of rubies in their possession. The offense will attempt to break into the castle and steal it from them. If they make it safely back here with the treasure, they win. If anyone on the team forfeits or the quest is not completed by dawn, defense wins.”
“Wins what?” a young man inquired.
“The team that wins passes training and receives the rubies for their necklaces,” stated Barak. “The team that loses will endure at least two more weeks of training.”
“And if you’re on Barak’s team you will also have wrath to face,” laughed Kane. Barak glared at him. “I will allow my dear friend to choose first.”
Barak selected the strongest male. “Fiera,” K
ane said with a grin. Fiera joined him. There were only seven left when Barak chose Cam. Her heart sank, and she almost groaned aloud. When there was no one left to choose, Barak had ten on his team and Kane had eleven. Kane allowed Barak to decide which side his team would take. Barak selected offense.
"Remember," Kane said cautiously. "This sport is about teamwork and strategy as well as everything else you have learned thus far. Before we begin, each of you will take some of this." Each was tossed a vial which contained only a few specks of Cinis Lumen. "To training," Kane said. With these words, the trainees each consumed their magic, and Kane, with his allies, climbed the ropes and vaulted over the side of the volcano.
Cam glanced over her team and noticed that most were built the same with narrow body frames and legs able for climbing. They were a team that could run, climb, and find their way in the dark.
The other team would be equipped with lights to help them see their opponents as they approached. Barak handed each of his team weapons similar to what was given to Kane’s, a small bag for each person of hard stones meant to be thrown and knock someone down. Together, the team slid down the side of the mountain. Cam hit the ground hard on her heels and ran a few feet in order to maintain balance. They walked swiftly through the forest instead of running, so as to save their strength.
Presently, they came to a clearing in which an enormous stone castle, narrow in structure with a pointed tower, loomed above the trees. A light flashed from a window in this tower. “I bet that’s where the treasure is. The idiot needs to turn off his light,” a boy snickered. Laughter rippled through the cluster until Barak demanded silence.
“Strategy is what your focus should be on." He leaned against a tree and waited expectantly for his trainees to begin the discussion. Loud voices arose, suggesting diverging strategies.
“We can climb the walls and sneak in!” a girl shouted.
“Let's just burst in and take over!" one boy yelled. The discussion went on for what seemed far too long until finally a tall, short haired brunette stepped forward and ordered the group to explore their surroundings. Cam thought that this was something they should have done much earlier. Most set off with a partner, but Cam was alone as she tiptoed around the side of the castle, touching the cold stone of the ediffice. with her fingertips. The stone was unnaturally cool. Much cooler than she would have expected, for her heightened sense of touch allowed her to feel more of something than she would have ordinarily done.
“If only I could turn off some senses and leave the others,” Cam muttered.
She glanced up, seeing lights, and pressed her back to the wall as the lights shone in the withering grass before her. The stone wall, she realized, was slick and would be nearly impossible to scale. They had not brought rope.
Cam cried out when she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. “Keep quiet would you?” the person said crossly.
“Sorry!” shewhispered. Theboy motioned for Cam to follow him. She went after him only because he was on her side, and she had nothing better to do. He led her around a corner of the castle, and Cam detected five persons pressed into the shadows of the wall. They were holding a whispered conversation.
“Nice of you to join us,” the tall girl who appeared to be the selected leader remarked as Cam approached. The towering female pointed ahead at something she wanted Cam to notice. It took Cam a full minute before she realized that a door was blended so closely with the exterior of the castle that it was difficult to detect. “My guess is that our ‘friends’ inside have no idea this is here.” The girl smirked, and everyone nodded. “The six of us will lead an attack inside while the other four will be stationed at the forest borders prepared to run the chest back to base if we end up throwing the chest out of the castle.” Her plan sounded the most reasonable.
The interior of the dilapidated castle was dark, except for torches here and there carried by their opponents. The floors and walls were made of stone and the ceilings, or what was left of them, was wood under thick layers of further laid stone. A long hall wound through the castle and copious corridors with open windows allowed the night breeze to drift past them.
"Quietly look around and report back here in five minutes," the leader told them. They separated, and Cam found that she was accompanied by a short, shaggy-haired boy who wore a determined expression. They tied their bags of stones to the belts at their waists and staggered slightly down the hallway until they gained their balance. Cam and her partner peered through doors into empty rooms which coated in dust and cobwebs. She shivered as they descended stairs and groped in a black abyss. So far, they hadn't found anyone or any way of reaching the tower where they assumed the chest was located.
Five minutes later, back at the window, another companion informed them that he knew the treasure was indeed within the tower, but that it was well guarded by three opponents. “We can take them,” their leader said smoothly. “Five on three. We can do it.”
“Not without a plan,” a tall boy with dark hair and a quieter disposition stated.
“Our plan is to sneak up there; two of us become a distraction while the others run through the hall to the room. Once in the room, we’ll take them before they can strike. Then those in thehallactingas distractions will join us. Thenwe’ll throwthechest down to one of our mates who will run it back to base.”
“Should we signal them on the grounds to make a distraction?” the blonde boy with Cam asked.
“Goodidea." Heleft tosignal theother halfoftheir company and Cam hurried on with the other three, assuming he'd catch up. The four trespassers discovered a long stairwell leading to the tower. Their tall female plan-maker took the lead after appointing Cam and the tall, dark boy to act as distractions. Once they lighted upon the top stair, they halted and caught a glimpse of the open tower room glowing with torch light. Soft voices floated through the interior blending with the slow walk of boots over stone.
Cam and her partner leaped into the hall in view of the guards. They swung their bags of ammunition over their heads and released one single shout. This captured the attention of the guard, a rather clumsy male who didn’t look like he knew what he was doing. He fumbled with his bag and withdrew a stone, threatening to throw it at Cam. While this was happening, the other two had sneaked along the wall and disappeared around a corner to make their attack in the tower room.
A stone came hurtling at Cam’s head. She ducked to the side just as another hit the wall above her partner’s head. One hit her arm, causingher to wince. “Comeon!”shoutedtheboy next to Cam. She darted after the boy who had now lost all of his ammunition. Cam’s companion lunged for their opponent’s torso and knocked him down. “Help!” shouted their opponent. The next moment, Cam could hear thundering boots on the stairwell. Two more enemies were approaching.
“Hand me that water jug!" Cam commanded. Her ally looked puzzled but did as she bid him to. He reached for a jug of old water in the corner. Cam tossed the water carelessly over the stairs just as she spotted the two newcomers darting upward. She watched the effect of her plan with triumph as the unsuspecting victims fell flat on the slippery stairs. Cam fled the scene and found her dropped bag of ammunition upon the ground. With some summoning of strength, she swung it with both hands and released it, sending the whole bag into the opponent they first encountered. He reeled against the wall. Cam's teammate offered her a smile before darting down the hall.
The hall to the tower was longer than Cam expected and was flanked on either side by open doors leading into pitch chambers. This castle must have been a great place at one point. Suddenly, through panted breath, Cam screamed for she was suddenly withdrawn into a dark room. Her partner didn’t seem to notice for he continued down the hall. Cam struggled fiercely.
Acalloused hand clamped over Cam’s mouth and an arm encircled her torso in a tightening hold. Her feet dragged along the stone ground as she was pulled through the darkness. After a few minutes, she gave up the struggle and attempted to sense where she was bein
g taken. Her heightened hearing picked up the vague whispers of her companions. These whispers were slowly fading as she was forced into yet another doorway. Her stomach dropped the same time her feet did, and she found she was being carried down a stairway which was narrow and smelled of urine. She wished now that she could turn down her sense of smell. Rodents skittered past her. Her assailant was quiet. If it was not holding onto her, she would have never known of his presence.
Panic threaded through her but was suddenly doused when she found she had been released. She stood with shaking knees. Cam whirled around trying to peer through the dark to distinguish her mysterious attacker. She attempted to keep her heavy breathing quiet. Why had the person brought her here? Was she in danger? She clenched her hands to keep from quaking and realized that a small piece of parchment had been pressed into her palm.
Cam noticed that the room she stood in was dimly lit by moonlight through small, circular windows. A long, rectangular table with multiple chairs on either side stood midway between the extensive walls. She was standing in what was or had been a great dining hall. With piqued curiosity, she roamed the length of the hall towards the end where a grand, glass window was set high above the banquet table.
She stood under it and unfolded the paper. She squinted and leaned forward to read the words written on the paper. “The old dwelling of the doves.” Her brow furrowed as she reread the message over and over. Was this dwelling the mysterious messenger spoke of the structure she now stood in?
“The handwriting is familiar. Very familiar.” She paused and glanced upward at the glass window. The moonlight glimmered over the glass figure built into the wall. With its wings spread, the glass dove looked as if it was going to take flight. Cam released a gasp. Is this where the Spirit Followers lived before the rebellion? Cam started to feel uneasy and strangely cold. What did any of this mean? The dove symbol was quite strange in this room, primarily due to being the only object that was still completely intact. While everything seemed old and dilapidated, the dove was clean and clear as if it had been recently polished.
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