Reverence is a dark academia romantasy, a tale of all consuming love, gut-wrenching betrayal, unbreakable bonds and unspoken truths.
Nineteen year old Josephine Carmine was orphaned at five and passed around to multiple foster families, three of wh...
Jane walks us through the school grounds, and I grip on my suit case a little tighter as the weight begins to take a toll on my arm as we pass a large opening of lush land that leads to the student quarters. To my left, across a lake sits a similar castle to Blackmore, "What is that place?" I ask Jane a few moments later while squinting. "Kraven Academy for boys, our brother school. Founded around the same time as Blackmore, it was originally run by Marcellus Kraven, father of Daella, Elvina and Odessa Kraven, the three sisters that founded our beloved Blackmore." I nod once again in understanding as we make our way through the quarters. "If they were family, why did Marcellus and his daughters found two separate schools? Why not just merge them?" I ask Jane, slightly out of breath. "The boys at Kraven are trained differently, they always have been. They have been trained to be warriors, war generals, to be strategic and to master their powers, we here at Blackmore, however, are trained to use our abilities, become scribes, become healers and to restore balance to the magical scale." I sense a tone of annoyance, I guess Jane would like to be trained to her full potential.
We finally reach my rooms and I place my suitcase on my bed, it is large enough and sits on four posts. There is a wardrobe, a desk on the right of the window overlooking the forest, and an on suit bathing chamber. The walls are all stone and the drapes are a deep charcoal, it's comfortable. "And Josephine," Jane drags out, "We are not to fraternise with the Kraven boys, it it our utmost rule. The schools share a weekly dinner, an annual ball and we come together on special occasions, but we do not get involved romantically." I tilt my head and say "With all due respect, Jane, I have no intention of getting familiar with any of the Kraven boys, I'm here to master my magic, that is all." Jane looks at me for a moment longer, before saying "It's Noxumbra tonight, after dinner the entire school as well as Kraven will meet at the lake we passed on our way here. Do. Not. Be. Late." With that, Jane turns on her heel and shuts my door. Finally. Some peace.
I'm here. I don't allow the memories of killing my foster families to drown my mind, my orphanage mother always told me that this day would come but I never payed her any mind, not until I realised that I could not tame my power, I could not wield it and I could not target it. My entire life has been building up to this moment and I'll be damned if I don't come out on top. This school has no idea what beast they have allowed to roam their halls. I smile to myself and unbuckle my suitcase to begin storing my belongings away, I decide to bathe after my long journey and spent a few minutes just soaking, feeling the warmth from the water seeping into my bones makes me groan slightly. I start feeling lightheaded and I take that as my queue to get out of the tub, I tie my long raven coloured hair into a high pony tail and dress for dinner. I pick up the map of the school premises that the Headmistress gave me when I first arrived, and head out the door. A few students are in the corridor but I keep trailing my finger on the map that will lead me to the dining hall, when I feel a presence beside me. "Lost?" I turn and see that it's the moon haired girl, Corbyn, the traveller. I wiggle the map at her and say "Never." "Come, the dining hall is this way. I'm Corbyn Yule, second year." She gives me a small smile and her eyes almost entirely close. "Josie Carmine, first year, and thank you." I follow her down two flights of stairs and down a long corridor that passes the library before I say "I didn't know that physical combat was so important for Blackmore, I saw a few students practicing in the quadrant earlier." Corbyn chuckles slightly and says "It never used to be like that, Blackmore was designed to teach young girls how to use their powers, but in the last fifty years we have had multiple attacks on the castle, thus we were forced to learn how to defend ourselves, in any and every way that mattered." Attacks? From who? I decide to make a mental note of that and ask about it later.
ꕥ
The dining hall all buzzed with excited whispers and the flickering light of candles were scattered across the room. At the center of the long staff table, Headmistress Ashgrove rose, her hair shimmering beside the enchanted candles that illuminated the room. With a gentle wave of her hand, the hall fell silent, every student's gaze fixed upon her. "Welcome, dear students, both old and new, to another year at Blackmore university," she began, her voice carrying the warmth of a hearth fire and the promise of adventure. "This year, we will aspire to protect each other, master ourselves and create meaningful bonds that will carry out centuries from now." As she sat down, women entered the room and the chattering began once again, multiple selections of meat and produce, juices and wild rice placed in front of the students. "And with this evening being Noxumbra, we celebrate!"
The flickering glow of the candles bathed the cozy dining room in a warm, golden light as Corbyn leaned forward, seated across from me at the table, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She sat with Jane, and another woman with rich sandy hair, whom I didn't know. The rich aroma of roast chicken and pumpkin pasties filling the air. "Can you believe it's finally here?" she whispered, her voice barely containing her enthusiasm. "Noxumbra! It only comes once every century." I put a piece of chicken in my mouth and swallow before I reply, "I've never heard of it, what is it exactly?" Corbyn opens her mouth to speak but Jane says, "it's the Black Eclipse Josie, you've never heard of it?" I slowly shake my head before popping a piece of cheese into my mouth. "There was a curse, five hundred years ago" Jane lowered her voice and I stopped chewing to listen better. "A prince fell in love with Odessa Kraven, they would meet at the lake every evening after dusk. Her father did not approve of the arrangement, and Odessa didn't care, so he cursed them both, he bound their souls to the lake." She went on. Corbyn was playing with a strand of her hair and said, "That's why they called it Odessa's lake. From then on, the Noxumbra began. Odessa was a shadow wielder, the last of her kind. When she was killed and her soul was bound, the magical scale was thrown off balance. Her power severed into a million orbs and shot into the sky like a thousand stars, and trapped itself in the moon and only shows itself every one hundred years."
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