A Tale of Shadows - THE OUTDATED VERSION

Chapter 15 - The Obscurian Field For Magic

The sun was faintly glowing as Viola led Jeffrey to the headquarters of the Obscurian Field For Magic. He had almost approached it, and, while standing right behind her, he saw that the white building was located at a place far away from civilization, a place where, except for the object itself, there was nothing but long grass and trees and flowers. In fact, the trees were so thick that even if someone was randomly teleported, they could tell that they had gotten deep into a forest, one classic forest out of many. People could be lost in them, and considering that this was a forest, they most certainly have. Jeffrey was thus a bit surprised that he was unable to find a single decayed corpse. 

He scowled once he reached the door. He heard the footsteps of several people from the inside, hesitant to enter. His right hand started to shake when it got very close to the door, which had no bells on it, so he had to knock. 

"I apologize if I'm bothering you, Jeffrey, but could you please knock at once?" Viola spoke, and he noticed that her feet were probably sore because of the position she was standing in and how long she was standing like that.

He sighed. "Yes, I will. I must. Time is a limited resource, especially nowadays."

He did the deed immediately. Everything inside of the building appeared to have halted while a woman was nearing the door, her heels echoing against the floor, walking with great speed. He and Viola moved a few steps closer to the door, waiting for her to come out. He was staring at the distance, wondering who the woman could be. It was Maria, and she smiled radiantly at them once she recognized them.

"I welcome you, Jeffrey and Viola. It is nice to see you, but I know that you have a certain reason to have come here. What is it that this need could be?"

Viola scowled, crossing her hands. "I thought you had to travel somewhere far, so why are you here, laughably easy to find from the Obscurian palace?"

Maria shrugged. "My plans have changed. I have been told that our headquarters were going to be replaced by a new one somewhere entirely different around this time, but the realization of that decision has been postponed to a still unchosen date. You can ask the head mentor if you would like."

Viola nodded, after which they followed Maria into the building. It seemed much bigger on the inside than on the outside, even though the roof was quite literally piercing the clouds on the outside. Tall, white doors were lined everywhere, looking as if they had gotten a new coat of paint recently. Only one of them was open, and it was the one on the right side of the path that led to the anteroom. Many men and women could be noticed from there, seated around a circular table, talking about what was happening right at the moment. He couldn't make out all the words, but he understood the gist of the conversation. Just like Maria, they had no clue as to what he and Viola could be doing at the place. 

Once they reached that door, Jeffrey could see the two plants left and right to it way more clearly than before. Both of them were lianas with little pink flowers that were a head lower than where the ceiling was. Those bright pink flowers didn't have many petals, but they themselves were many. They each had more spark within them than the rest of the building had in its entirety. It was exactly as it should have been, for the headquarters were filled with people who had serious business to do. Soon, they came in, and everyone glanced at them.

"Madam Piers, here I present to you Viola Jenkins and Jeffrey Bush. They have come to you and the rest of this field in need of help," she told the woman with cropped dirty blonde hair with a sorrowful gaze.

Olivia stroked her chin. "The newfound oracle and the chosen one? Interesting. Why are you here?"

"Wentworth suggested that we go here," Viola informed, seeking a chair she could sit on.