Curse of Ravens // Mikaelson

26 You are Guilty of Treason

The library wasn't guarded. The Inventory would be part of the building. As we entered, the suffocating magic in the air lessened by a majority. It felt like I could breathe again. My stomach didn't burn so much, and the feeling of rushing hormones was replaced by adrenaline. Fear of being caught. But there weren't any magic folk standing by. No one suspected that a member on the list would be breaking into the inventory during this festival. After all, just to gain entry onto campus one had to show the runes on their spine.

That was assuming those on the list had their runes removed. Mine, on the other hand, were intact. Aleksandr walked briskly through the great hallways. The magnitude of the halls seemed fitting for a castle, not something as straightforward as a library. The Viking warlock glanced at me, and I quickened my pace to fall into step beside him.

"Your proficiencies." I nodded in the direction of the visible runes on his ribs and the ones down the front of his thighs. "What are they?" My voice echoed a bit in the hallway, but I didn't lower the volume. Based on the atmosphere of the Canaan Festival, it would be very easy to feign out of a situation if we were caught. We could easily say that we got lost or were looking for a place to hook up. Of course, that didn't mean we should take risks. But there was no one here, or so it seemed.

"Offensive magic." Aleksandr pointed to the runes on his shoulder. "Soul magic." He pointed to a set on his ribs. The black markings stood out against his pale skin. "Invocation." As we walked, he gestured to a set of runes on his thigh. "Signature magic, and Agility."

"Oh is that all?" I joked.

"Next year I'm testing for Weaponry." Aleksandr explained. I glanced up and down at his physique, and came to the conclusion he definitely knew how to fight physically- not just magic. I wondered if I could beat him with a Bo staff, or anything, really. He was training to be a Witch Catcher but I had beaten some already. Maybe not physically, unless you count turning into a werewolf, but with magic. Maybe it was arrogant to think I could.

Invocation. That was invoking gods and spirits or any other manner of magic to momentarily strengthen your own magic. To call on someone or something to guide and aid you. Signature magic was the reason why he could tell I was Clan Hela upon our first meeting. Of course, even though he had a proficiency in Signature magic, and anyone could hone such a skill, the fact he had one so young suggests that I was right initially. He had a natural ability. The proficiency part just means that he's formally trained in that ability.

And soul magic, well that ranged from a vast variety of curses to rituals and even siphoning magic. A proficiency in soul magic simply meant he had perfected one of those skills, but it was anyone's guess which one unless he specified.

"Do you have any?" He wondered. I shook my head.

"I learned as much as I could, but I never got a chance to formally test for any proficiency." I had already stolen precious information and ditched the Norway Academy. The last part I didn't have to explain aloud. In fact, it made me feel a little sad that I would probably never get the chance to get any proficiencies.

"I think if I was going to... it would be Voodoo and Summoning. At least to start off with." I explained, recalling the magic I had done with Elizabeth in the cemetery when I first arrived in Mystic Falls. I caught his gaze and he must've saw something on my face that suggested I had absolutely no hopes of getting any proficiency. Aleksandr nudged me with his shoulder, and forced a little grin on his face.

"Summoning." Aleksandr echoed. I nodded, and he takes a turn at the end of the hallway. We head towards two doors. Above the doors were runes to indicate this was an entrance to the Inventory. "Like spirits?"