Regions of Saleen

Regions of Saleen - Ch. 3 - Part 2

  The footsteps soon continued and the hall was once again filled with a eerie silence. As I looked out from under the chest I could see a single speck float across my field of vision, shining in the light that cascaded into the room from the hallway. After waiting for some time Illias decided it would be best if he was to look and make sure no one else would come out before I exposed myself as well. He walked out into the hallway and I was yet again left alone in suffocating silence. After what felt like an eternity, I saw him peak back into the room and with a tense smile, motioned for me to come out. We walked into the hallway and yet again he took my hand and lead me to our unknown destination. 

"So Illias, do you have a family on the outside." I asked in a soft whisper, wanting something to distract myself from the crippling anxiety that was clouding my thoughts. His hand clenched around my own and I could only imagine the face he was making. Only a broken no could be heard in the cold halls of our prison.  

  We managed to travel down the hallway undisturbed until we came across  a staircase carved into the left side wall. Upwards seemed to be our best option so as quietly as we could manage we started going up. As we walked I let my mind wander and I came to thinking about Illias walking infront of me. I wonder what happened to his family that caused him to feel such pain when asked about them, maybe they had shared the same fate as the rest of my own.

   The stairs seemed like they would go on forever and right before I asked to stop for a break, something caught my eye. A crack in the wall was letting in light into the staircase. I tugged on the edge of Jamie's shirt to get him to stop and I pointed at the crack. He bent down on his knees and ran a finger along the crack until he felt a notch carved into the wall. He pulled on it and a section of the wall, a stone slab, gave way. It left a hole in the wall about the size of a young child that led into a very bright room. You could hear a fire cracking in there and it made me realize how cold the stairway was.

   Illias, as usual, went first and made sure it was clear before leading me through. The room was small but had a large fire buring in the center, sending warmth through the room. There was a table to my right with a pile of notebooks and paper scattered around and ink stains covering the wood tabletop. Infront of me there was a large bed with a canopy hanging down along the edges. I walked over to the table and took the top few notebooks and placed them in the messenger bag I had on. I waked back and sat down next to Jamie, beside the burning fire.

"So you know how to use the ways too right?" I asked.

"Yeah, I became an apprentice when I was seven and have be in training ever since."

"Can you...show me something? I was only taught how to do things related to the sacrifices so I've never seen it used for anything else."

He promptly stood up and dusted himself off then looked back at me with smirk.

"Watch this."

Illias started whispering a chant in a language I didn't recognize and walked circled around the fire.

"Tân yn llosgi gyda angerdd fy enaid a gyda phopeth sydd sanctaidd. Burn gyda dwyster fil o haul a hedfan i ffwrdd mor rhydd ag y gwynt!"

He stood back and the fire roared to life, flying into the air and around the room like a hundred ribbons being blown by fierce wind, rippling and waving wildly.

I was in complete awe as I watched this amazing feat being done right before my very eyes. I could see out of the corner of my eye that he was watching me with a grin on his face; proud that he could entice such a reaction from me.

"It's beautiful." I said, watching as the flames flew back down into the fire.

"It's the first thing I was taught when I started my apprenticeship, I could teach you if you wanted."

My eyes must of widen greatly because he started to laugh. His laugh was very contagious for I too started to laugh with him. But then we were cut off by the sound of hundreds of footsteps running below us in the main hallway. I took in a sharp breath when I heard what had caused this uproar.

"Headmaster! The girl has escaped with the village scum."

<authors note: the Language used by Illias is welsh; translation of the spell is "Fire burning with passion of my soul, and with all that is holy. Burn with the intensity of a thousand Sun and fly away as free as the wind">