Amantha and the Last Song

Chapter 5 - Escape

Amantha woke up with a searing pain across her back. She was lying, back upwards on a rough cot.

It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe.

Her back.

She tried to get up but the pain was unbearable. She faded into unconsciousness again.

When she came to her senses, it was hours later. Somehow, straining every inch of herself, she managed to get up from the cot. Her eyes watered in pain. She was in a small stone room. One door and no windows.

I'm in a cell.

I'm a prisoner.

She was wearing a tunic made of some rough material. There was a cracked mirror alone the edge of the room, dirty and stained with age. It looked like it had been placed there. Standing in front of it, she stripped off her tunic. She observed her naked body in the mirror. She turned around and craned her neck.

She could barely stop the scream that threatened to come out.

A brand had been burnt into her flesh, a symbol, half of which she could see. Dried blood and scabs covered her back. She felt sick, nauseated.

What have they done to me? She thought.

Where am I?

Where is Ceil?

Roughly at midday, the door opened and a bland meal was pushed inside. The rusty door closed again. In the evening, the door opened once more.

A man stood facing her.

"Bring the girl. He says he's done with the other one," said someone she couldn't see.

She didn't resist. She was led down two hallways accompanied by armed men. She entered into a large room. A fire burned in the center of the room. There were concentric sets of magic runes circling the ground.

Cetastones.

Magic, like other forms of energy, could be converted into states where it could be stored. Certain chemicals, natural, or synthesized, were exceptionally apt at this. These formed the base of magic potions or artefacts with spells cast on them. Spells and enchantments were two different things. Spells sought to affect the outside world with respect to what the spell was cast on. The subject of the spell wasn't affected or changed. The surroundings or environment would view the subject differently, or would be affected depending on the nature of the spell. Enchantments changed the nature of the subject itself. Only the subject was affected.

Cetaphane was the most effective naturally occurring mineral, for absorbing natural energy. Cetanine being the chemical. All throughout Ralkyre Cetaphane mines operated. Cetanine was obtained after a lengthy purification process. But pure Cetaphane also had its uses. If the mineral was not separated from its ore, and kept as such, they were called Cetastones. Certain magical experiments were such that if the amount of magical energy was likely to do structural or property damage around the area where it was conducted, then Cetastones were used to make the place where the experiment took place.

If two level five magicians faced off in a duel, it was likely that they would cause damage to their surroundings while fighting. So the duel was likely to take place in an area where Cetastones had been a part of the construction. That way a part of the incident energy was absorbed and the damage caused was less. This energy would be stored over a period of time, and then would gradually begin to fade. Very recently, Cetastones had begun to be processed in such a manner that allowed magicians to extract the energy with certain spells.