Diamond Heart

A Warden's Spell

I was the last novice to leave the room, urged into my personal chamber. Although I didn't know why, I felt everything was about to change. Of course I did try to warn them but nobody listened, now how many traitors were on the lose? How many of them were spell wardens or even spell magnuses?
I grabbed a bow from a statue among the hallway, to complement for the quiver slung across my shoulder. The histora book was still tight in my palm, and I felt the pages would wear out from the wetness of my palm. Ahead I could hear Delgrib speak orders to the guards, a strange faint glow hovering around him. I always wondered what his gift was, he was probably powerful enough for a spellwarden. The guards took off in different directions at his behest, obviously to carry out an order of some sort.
Suddenly that strange sinister feeling I had felt hit me again, some silent warning of impending danger, and I could see Delgrib was sensing it too, although the way his eyes were wide told he was surprised I sensed danger.
I wonder what magic had been released by that Truce, whatever it was.
"I don't know, but this monastery is no longer safe" I stated the obvious.
" I feel a lightspell" he spoke as he held me, seemingly coming around to at least believe me.
"What's a lightspell?"
"Consider it a magical Cannon powder with enough power to blow up miles across" he explained under shortened breath, rushing towards huge double doors to the side.
"A what?" I asked, obviously confused by what Cannon meant. G'daria was not used to such destructive weapons of war.
He left me and my unanswered question outside the door as he went in, obviously about to drop an unfavourable news.
"I know" the heavyset woman in the chamber answered even before Delgrib spoke. "I saw it hovering above our heads while we gathered around the Truce, we might not be able to do anything" There was a hint of regret in her tone.
"How quickly can we arrange an evacuation?"
The question, though intending a reply, was a rhetorical one that was left hanging on the air.
"He will die for nothing" the tone intensified.
"Izabelle," Delgrib walk towards her, in a bid to comfort, then tried having his arms around her. It was brushed off brusquely, reminding him his place.
"His attempts to counter the Truce hastened the effect of the lightspell, now he can't get out of it. There was no need for him to try" she nearly sobbed
" And to think I was the one who urged him to try. The last living spellmagnus we ever had"
" You have your father's gifts izabelle-"
" I can never live up to being a spellmagnus! I don't even know if I'm a powerful spellwarden"
" We don't have any choices ma'am.
"All we could do is to find a way to escape, who knows, these novices might turn up something, not to say you aren't a spellmagnus already. You are just unwilling to accept it."
" The grandmaster triggered a failsafe in trying the counter the Truce, and it was obviously drawn to conjure a lightspell, now time is against us. We have nothing to do but escape.
"Delgrib, let the other monks know, the spellwardens are tasked with preserving the library, however they deem fit, they could draw Truces of their own. We will take these novices and everyone across Eldriza and out of here, and send word to our brother monks in the Order of Kelt. It's time we paid them a homely visit."
Delgrib bumped into me eavesdropping outside the door, irritation carved on his face.
"How about you don't get in my way?" He asked gruffly, moving quickly ahead of me, ten strides to my one. Overhead and behind us in the long passage way, a circular Ray of light spread outwardly in a horizontal manner, enveloping the Monastery's high ceilings.
It crawled with purpose. Slowly, but with purpose.
I hurried after Delgrib, asking if that was the lightspell.
"Yes, once it totally encircles its target, it explodes, ripping everything in it's path into shreds"
I caught the gist of it suddenly. The monastery was the lightspell's target and it had been cast in the middle and spreading outward from it. Once the encircling was complete, we would blow up into pieces.
I suddenly wondered how vast the monastery was, really our lives at the moment depended on how quickly the lightspell could travel the entire length and width of the monastery.
I quickened my pace. Could a large scale evacuation be executed? Surely this sort of thing must have been considered while building this monastery!
I felt somewhat responsible for the turn of events.
Villuan probably had people in this monastery, waiting for me. My wandering into the mirror dimension must have alerted them and the Breathtaker sent after me. For one strange reason he had been unable to do his job properly, and seemingly showing his hand too soon, decided to blow up the entire monastery rather than give me time to fully master my gift, whatever it was.
They said it was a suicidal Truce, which means he had himself killed by his own spell than risking an escape and possibly, question and torture.
But if I hadn't gone into the mirror dimension.
Mirror dimension! A thought suddenly occurred to me. I froze in my tracks.
"Delgrib! What if we all go into the mirror dimension!" I screamed after him. He paused briefly to look at me.
"What's mirror dimension?"
My jaw dropped in confusion.
" You don't know what it is?"
"We have serious problems to deal with kid!" He said, finally reaching his destination.
In the wide room that was used as a reception, almost everyone was gathered, timid, scared, confused.
This was their home for years, some were born here. Now everything was suddenly being taken from them. Just like that.
The doors opened and the guards urged them out, having already received word from Delgrib, screaming orders at fellow guardsmen.
The open expanse of desert beyond the monastery gates was filled with carriages and horses of different kinds, bearing witness to a swift and coordinated preparation. The mass of people swarming out the gates hoisted into carriages and horses, doing their best in controlled panic to exit the monastery as quickly as possible.
Few were loathe to leave.
"Where is Melissa?" I asked Delgrib, eyes wide with fright. He turned around in confusion. He somehow had not sensed her in the mass exit.
"They're back in the monastery. Head for the gates kid!" He ordered, running back inside. They? I ignored wondering how he knew that and in direct objection to his order, followed him behind.
The light seemed to have spread a good distance, leaving just a few spaces for the spell to complete. Delgrib just ran fiercely into the chamber where he had left the dark skinned lady, izabelle.
I caught up with him and ran into a mass of confusion and utmost disorder.
Weapons flew recklessly around.
"Seven sticks of Salamy!" I swore as an arrow zipped past me and pinned to the door. They looked to be in a fierce battle, with izabelle being guarded by her special forces and Melissa. Delgrib swore in disgust, drawing out his sword.
"Who are you people!" Izabelle demanded, readying her hand to cast a spell. She was instead blown off by a lightning blast aimed towards her from her attackers, losing balance and sprawling to the ground. Delgrib and Melissa were blown through the door and out the walkway, disabled.
The guards were pinned stiffly to their position as if held down by an invisible force.
The attackers, two hooded men in a brightly vermilion monk robe strode over izabelle, brandishing gleaming swords. They hacked at her.
In that instant - either out of horror or fear, I could not tell - I dove across her on the floor, getting in the way of the swords.
They splintered on impact with my body, the shards spread across the floor. My astonishment was short-lived as Izabelle, taking advantage of the moment, threw me around and with a spell of her own, blew the attackers into the ceiling.
One of them exploded into pieces on contact with the lightspell while the other was released and fell with a thud. I heard a bone crack.
"Who are you?" Izabelle demanded, walking over the man who was obviously still alive.
"You cannot stop him," he sputtered, blood oozing out spaces in his face. " The prophecy speaks in his favour"
Another loud crack followed as izabelle tightened her fist, seemingly breaking his spine with an invisible force.
She turned towards me.
"Come young lad, we haven't the luxury of time" She took my palm and let me out the door, as her guards suddenly free of the force followed after her, running into Delgrib and Melissa
"I'm sorry-" Delgrib started but was cut off summarily
"No time" Izabelle answered as we all ran towards the entrance. Then suddenly a chime sounded, the huge entrance door shut with force and the lightray overhead zapped with enormous energy. There was now no escape.
The spell was complete.