The Rogue World Of Dostira: E.D

Another Rumour

The dining hall was one of the largest rooms in the castle. It had four enormous stained glass windows depicting each one of the prodigy creatures and they decorated the space with an array of colourful lights. Audrey tried to not look around too much or draw any attention to herself. She didn't need to worry because the students around her were too occupied with their food and buzzing conversations to even notice her.

   "Audrey! Over here!" a voice called out.

She looked up to see Bella sitting alone at a wooden table in the corner of the room with a wide grin on her face, waving at her. She walked over quickly, swerving past students to get to the corner of the hall where Bella sat waiting.

   "So how was the tour?" She asked.

Audrey didn't know what to say. She felt intimidated, anxious and overwhelmed by everything. Also with Charlie acting as if she was the last person he wanted to be around the entire time, then abandoning her outside the hall, made the whole experience even more foreign. She had known Charlie since she was a little girl and he was the only connection she had to home. With him gone, she felt even more alone.

   "Charlie said to ask you about the gardens" she said.

   Bella gasped, "He didn't tell you?".

She was thrown off guard by Bella's reaction and so just shook her head before leaning closer towards her.

   "So you know about the Noctissian?" Bella asked.

Remembering what had happened in the woods upon her arrival to Dostira made Audrey even more uncomfortable and the sweat she was trying desperately hard to contain, grew worse.

   "Oh yea, I-I remember that thing" she replied.

   "Well, that's just one of three Dostira Guardians. There's also the Caligossian and the Timorissian, and both are equally frightening." She began.

   "The Caligossian takes the form of fog and can enchant the mind by making intruders see or hear strange things that aren't there. It doesn't affect any professors though, their prodigy pendants are inscribed with a secret rune that protects them from it. The Caligossian covers the gardens near the entrance of the school at night, for our protection".

Audrey tried to listen intently but could feel the onset of another feverish episode.

   "The last guardian, the Timorissian, protects Jezebel's Garden. It's where the Vingko root is grown along with other rare and precious herbs. The Timorissian only listens to the commands of the school's headmaster".

   "Mr Harkness?" Audrey said quietly.

   "Yep," she replied, "but no student has really seen The Timorissian. In our books it's described as a cloaked giant with snakes emerging from its misty shadow. I know, terrifying. Well, anyone who enters the garden without the headmaster's permission is captured by the Timorissian who then subdues them with visions of their worst fears. You're basically frozen and forced to see whatever you fear most until Mr Harkness tells it to stop. The point I'm trying to make is; don't go into Jezebel's Garden and don't wander around the school after hours".

Only when she was done speaking did she notice the redness of Audrey's face and how sweat covered her forehead and neck. She reached out to touch her hand and felt a familiar temperature. Immediately she stood to her feet and called out for the nearest Solis professor, this made the dining hall fall quiet as two strangers came rushing over to assess Audrey's condition.

While it was as if no one had noticed her when she first entered the hall, everyone was talking about her as she left it. With both professors holding her up, and Bella instructing them on the location of their dormitory, she could hear the hissing sound of voices talking about her.