Elydes-Chapter 353 - Dark Forebodings

Elydes-Chapter 353 - Dark Forebodings

Chapter 353 - Dark Forebodings
A sense of foreboding tingled his thoughts. Kai pulled his foot, stumbling when the gossamer threads veiling the ground refused to give. Three more forceful jerks finally saw him free.
The silver bracelet emitted a soft hum. A glowing number appeared below the three lines timing the Trials.
“Twenty-nine,” Alden said behind him. He stood by the massive stone door that had ground close, looking at the plain band on his wrist. “That’s the number of doors we crossed. Either a hint for another challenge, or the point value for the challenge we passed. The Trials sometimes have—”
“Quiet.” Kai raised a hand to hush him.
He squinted at the darkness, ears keen on catching any sound amidst the dripping and drafts. The glowing quartzes in the previous chamber had ruined his night vision. Stronger than his Perception was the ominous whisper that brushed his thoughts.
“What is it?” Alden shuffled forward, tone low and curt. His walk faltered as his boot got stuck to the ground. “Bloody Moons. This—”
“We aren’t safe. Be quiet.”
“What’s the—?”
A faint chittering answered more clearly than any words could be. The sound bounced off the cavern walls, like the clicking of mandibles and the scuttling of pointed legs. The echoes made it impossible to gauge the position of the origin—though any distance was too short.
Shit! I hate spiders. What are the odds that I’m wrong?
“Are those beasts?” Alden whispered. He crouched to examine what was trapping his boot and freed himself with one sharp pull, looking more curious than worried.
“Yes, they’re probably—” Kai made to expand Mana Observer, but a sharp whisper froze him before his skill could sweep the darkness—only one explanation.
This just keeps getting better.
As if giant cavern spiders weren’t enough, they had to be mana sensitive.
“Don’t spread your senses,” Kai said. “They’ll track us back. Probably our mana too if we’re not careful.”
Dark lurkers often had Perception traits. A foray in the caves below the mountain at the heart of the Sanctuary had imparted that lesson in his flesh, almost worse than diving in the murky depths.
“How do you know that?” Alden asked.
“My danger skill.”
“The one that got us trapped here?”
“Yes. I—” Kai bit his cheek. Indeed, how did that happen? He had keyed the skill to find the best route. Or maybe that path had just been the shortest? “I did find an exit. I didn’t think it’d be in a cavern full of spiders."
Hallowed Intuition wasn’t lying now—danger breathed on his neck, sending shivers down his back, unshackled by the bounds of an academy test.
“This shouldn’t be possible,” Alden said. “The Trials must follow rules too. We’re first years. The academy must provide a clear warning if we’re to engage awakened beasts. It’s— Unless did we go off the path? But that… Mat, are you sure your skill chose the correct path?”
“I don't know. It’s my first time participating in the Trials. I don’t have generations of family and friends who attended Raelion before me. Now, be quiet. We need a solution,” Kai snapped, too hurried for politeness.
The eerie chittering was drawing closer, far too numerous to belong to a single beast. They faced a colony, and it was only a matter of time before they were discovered. He had no desire to confront whatever horror lurked beyond his senses, especially with nothing but his magic at hand.
We need to get out. There must be a solution. This is still a test… right?
Kai turned to the passage that led him into the cavern. The massive stone door didn't budge even when he pulled with his Empowered Strength. His hands brushed the rough surface, prying his mana inside with no more success. No matter how many threads he wove through half a meter of rock, cloaking obscured his vision, leaving him defenseless to the arrays cutting off his prods.
The runes were made to be interacted only from the other side. Perhaps if he had half an hour, he could figure it out, but the scuttling legs echoed ever closer. They might not even have minutes.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Run or fight?
He could blink them through with Spatial Shift, but that would mean revealing his Space affinity not only to Alden, but potentially to the professors that must be monitoring them. How much would they see? What if the wards interfered with his skill? Would he get splattered in the wall?
“We aren’t getting out this way,” Kai said—except as a last resort.
Alden remained unperturbed. “The academy shouldn’t let truly dangerous beasts roam the Trials.”
“Shouldn’t?”
“Unless it’s a threat we’re meant to avoid fighting.”
How reassuring.
“Considering the terrain, it’s probably better if we face it here.” Alden curiously stared into the darkness. “What kind of beast do you think it is?”
“Probably a colony of giant, hairy spiders. Or similar creepy crawlers.”
Alden blanched. His head snapped to Kai as he retreated to the stone door. “Spiders? No… We must find a way out.”
“What else did you think they were?”
“I—I never—”
“You know you snuggle to sleep with a snake.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Uhm… Nothing.” Kai found himself smiling despite himself. “Use your bracelet or get behind me.”
Alden got behind him. “Do you have experience fighting beasts?”
“Some.”
I’m going to hate this. Hey, Hobbes? How much longer is your snack break gonna take? I could use a hand, or paw right now.
~~~
The narrative has been taken without permission. any sightings.
Below the morphing celestial vault of the Aula Regendi, teams of adjutants filed under the command of supervising professors. Most sat at the cluster of tables, eyes trained on the monitoring arrays, crystal matrices and scrying cubes. Mana and runes wove through the displays crafted from infused materials with incredible artistry. Buying a single piece could bankrupt minor Houses.
Madness.
Zalgor Armenius Crowler leaned into his plush armchair with a rueful shake. From the command podium below the arching windows, the entire hall of activity unfolded before him. Sound wards reduced the thrum of activity to a muffled buzz, even the unencumbered voices too quick for most minds to parse.
True madness.
Hundreds of specialized personnel and illustrious professors slaved to oversee the first-year Trials.
All
the first-year students.
Madness that Dean Astares had chosen to combine the course of studies for the Mid-Term Trials, and madness that he had succeeded with some semblance of order. The man’s capabilities couldn’t be denied. If only he’d turn his efforts toward more worthy goals instead of misbegotten projects.
Countless chromiums wasted on brutes and tinkerers, polluting the apprentices on the purest arcane path with their inferior counterparts. Another crack in Raelion’s slow decline.
Zalgor would have preferred to supervise the senior students. Alas, his wisdom and expertise were required here—
“Got your eye on any promising seeds?” A husky voice intruded on his thoughts. “I’ve already had some surprises myself. Both for better and worse.” A boisterous laugh followed.
Lips pressed, he turned to the large figure towering over his armchair, obscuring the light from the windows. “Professor Bertram, what a pleasure. As you can see, I’m occupied monitoring the Trials.”
Not only must he waste his sanity monitoring over five thousand students, but he also had to share the space with uncouth barbarians. Brutish professors who thought themselves his equal.
Why must I suffer such indignity?
If the man noticed his dismissal or displeasure, he gave no sign. “Good to see you, too. It’s impressive the trouble the fresh punks get up to. We’ve already had to send seven emergency extractions.” He gave a boisterous laugh, all of his gravitas and the stoic facade forgotten the moment students weren’t in sight. “I have hopes some might enroll again next year. A couple months of discipline and proper exercise can always ground out stupidity. Cowardice though… Can you believe a hundred and sixteen students forfeited before leaving the first chamber? A fifth even from Fall Intake.”
“I can,” Zalgor said. A meager consolation for enduring this venture. “You never finish culling the rabble from the worthy blood. I myself look forward to teaching a worthy class.”
“On
that
, I can’t complain. It’ll be nice to slim down the classes and give students the proper attention." Bertram's calloused hands fell on his shoulders, making him stiffen as he squeezed him with enough strength to make bones creak. “So you’ve found interesting students?”
Zalgor briefly considered keeping a dignified silence, though that would mean tolerating the man’s presence for longer. “I’ve kept my eye on a few…” His hands brushed the smooth crystal matrix in front of him. Mana danced across the command arrays under his expert touch, coaxing the information that would free him from the nuisance.
Hmm, he should do.
An image washed over the scryer cube, a clarity that rivaled House of Mirrors’ namesakes. It moved over a group of students, stopping over the two boys at the front. A handsome youth with pale hair and his tall commoner guard. From their lazy gait, one would think they were strolling a promenade rather than a maze with potentially lethal traps.
If Zalgor hadn’t witnessed both their assessments, he would have thought them hopeless fools. “This is the most promising group in my sector.”
“Uh, I recognize the one. Flynn Soveli. He’s one of mine. Smart fella, sometimes too smart for his own good. Just needs a little polishing…”
“Hey, is that Rain Ryuu?” A merry voice called, echoed by another woman. “He is! That’s the Labyrinth of Jagged Blades.”
Zalgor inwardly groaned as more interlopers invaded his station. He kept his gaze ahead in the vain hope they’d leave—the Moons weren’t so merciful. “Greetings, Professor Myrlette. Professor Gardelle.” He offered a terse nod. “How wonderful of you to join us while I’m working.”
The two women made an unlikely pair, one as tall and gaunt as the other was short and plump, though they shared in their abysmal manners. Ignoring his obvious hint, they only had eyes for the students on the screen.
“I don’t think I’ve heard of this Rain. Is he notable?” Betram asked, intrigued, invading the boundary of politeness to watch the display.
“That’s because he’s from Winter Intake,” Myrlette said. “He’s projected to rank in the top ten, and likely not the bottom half. Quite a rare find.”
“Quite indeed,” Gardelle echoed, speaking with a conspiratorial air. “And that’s not even the more curious part. No one’s quite sure where the dean found him.”
Zalgor pinched the bridge of his nose. His ears filled with useless chatter as the three discussed like peasant gossipers. Truly, how could all esteemed professors forgo their bearing as soon as no student was watching? And
why
in front of his station?
Blessed Moons, how low have we fallen…
Betram leaned to squint at the scryer. “Is that a familiar? Were they allowed inside?”
“It does look so! A silver cat?”
“Oh, yes. I’ve never seen such luscious fur. Do you think it’s as soft as it looks? Can you clear up the image, Zalgor?”
“Professor Zalgor Armenius Crowler,” he hissed. Shouldering three pairs of eyes, he resignedly channeled his mana into the crystal. “It’s impossible… uhm, it appears to be a cat. The adjunctants might have brought it in if they were together during the collection.”
He was grateful when the group walked past the wards.
A curious coincidence. He didn’t remember seeing the lap pet when he’d last checked on them, though even the thousands of scrying arrays in the light quartz and fake rocks couldn’t cover the corners of every cavern.
“What about other standouts?”
“Just one more. I heard there was a young Verelune in your sector.”
Most groups had finished forming their alliances and were venturing into the tunnels. One became two, and two soon became
ten
. With a chagrin look, Zalgor obeyed, strung on the thin hope that they would leave him alone sooner. When he finally got respite, it wasn’t in the form he wished.
“Crowler! What are you doing?” The Head Supervisor thundered, though the shout sounded right beside his ear. “Pay attention to your sector! How long since you’ve checked on the young Blackwoods? Someone
has entered the Spiders’ Vault. ”
“I’m—That’s… that’s not possible. It’s barely been an hour since most groups started the Trials,” Zalgor jolted to channel his mana into the crystal matrix. The other three professors suddenly stood three steps behind him, though he had no time to glare at them.
“You should really pay more attention. What if someone gets hurt?” Gardelle chided him.
“Maybe you should send an extract,” Betram offered.
“We’re at Raelion. What’s the point of having Trials if we reduce the danger to nothing?”
“And if
Blackwoods
gets hurt? I won’t be the one telling the matriarch if something happened to her favorite nephew. It’s not my sector.”
Zalgor could feel the blood drain from his face as his vision blurred. His sweaty fingers darted over the arrays, only eclipsed by the speed of his frantic thoughts. Images of a poisoned drink and agonizing death already crowded his mind.
Each glimmering line of runes he ran through the wards of the Branching Doors, confirming his worst fears. How had anyone picked an exact sequence of twenty-nine passages and cracked a layered Laminar Sigil? Only the architects were supposed to use that entrance. How could it have gone so wrong? No student should be able to get there. Especially not a
first-year
.
“How much longer do you need?” Professor Myrlette asked, her inane question mirrored by her shorter counterpart. “I can help if you wish. The matrices are finicky to tune if you’re not used to them.”
“Thank you, professors. I’ve got it… perfectly handled. There just aren’t enough eyes inside,” Zalgor said through gritted teeth. And why should they have wasted resources in an area no one was supposed to access till the last day? “Here!”
The right connection slid into place, forming a projection of a web-coated cavern on the scryer. Cold gray and ochre saturated the image, where the arrays adjusted for the darkness.
All three professors shut up.
“Uhm… They seem to have it well in hand.” Myrlette broke the silence.
“They have.” Gardelle curled her lips at the scene. “That’s… that’s a lot of dead spiders.”
“I feel bad for the spiders,” Bertram said.
Zalgor snorted. “True blood never lies. All that worry for nothing.” At that pace, they soon defeat the cavern and return to the path. They just had to avoid the sealed pit in the lower levels—a possibility so remote that hardly merited consideration. No, he truly deserve—
The desk pressed in his gut as he bent to look at the smooth crystal.
Is that… another silver cat?
He dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief. When he looked again at the blurry edges of the cube scryer, the silver feline was gone.
Damn idiots and their nattering. Now I’m seeing things.

Chapter 353 - Dark Forebodings