Presage

Chapter 15.2 ♚ Ancient Seals

A/N: Inspiration on roof garden :D

***

"There's something I still don't understand," Nox said, blowing the awkward silence. "What is an ancient seal doing in their realm? Those seals have only been developed a few thousand years ago, for it to be used in another realm... does this mean someone already crossed the barrier?"

"That's possible," Darcy answered. "However, when I inspected their mansion, there was no sign of any seal."

"Could it be underground? But as far as I know, seals won't work when buried, isn't that right, Uncle Lucio?"

"Yes, yes." Lucio stroked the side of his glossy hair with the palm of his hands. "Even so, ancient seals are different."

"We had this book--"

"--for newbies," the man continued. "The real ancient seals were only taught to Grand Masters of Magic such as myself. It requires years of training to perfectly execute an ancient seal. Failing the process has a great setback to the caster, and sometimes, it may lead to their own death. Nevertheless, as years passed by, the ancient seals became less and less useful, because of the newly developed and much safer seals, that's why people know little of its true nature."

He shifted in his seat, glancing at his reflection. "But there's still beauty in the old seals. Even though they were rarely used today, that doesn't mean they're less effective. Quite the contrary actually, the older the seal the more powerful it is."

"That sounds so wrong," Ty commented and Nox stared at him in bewilderment as though he just said something sensible for the first time.

"Ancient seals are not limited to the ground or being seen by the naked eyes," Lucio said. "It's very flexible. The caster can harness it to oneself, so wherever he goes, the seal is there, like he was the center of a huge circle. Also, it can be attached to anything: person, object, animal, plants. It doesn't matter. As long as the supply of energy continues, the seal would work. And that's one more thing that made the ancient seal different. It requires a great amount of energy, that even I wouldn't be able to maintain it for a day or two."

"So how do you actually detect an ancient seal?" Nox asked, lifting a brow.

"Just like any magic, using ancient seals requires the energy from your soul and those who have great chances of detecting them are Arcanists and those with the Gift of Sight," the Great Magician explained. "However, once those with the Gift of Sight enters the seal themselves, they won't be able to detect it through their eyes, unless they're also proficient in reading the flow of souls."

"In summary, the best ones to find the ancient seal are Arcanists? Whether inside or outside the seal?"

The older man nodded. "And of course, Great Magicians."

"Uhm," Zoe spoke before Nox could utter another word. "What's the difference between Great Magicians and Arcanist?"

Although she had grown accustomed to huge parties that required a lot of conversations, she rarely asked questions, especially those that could be learned through books and the internet. Because asking questions was a sign of incompetence and the lack of knowledge, and her sisters hate that. But this situation was different, and somehow, asking a question made her feel liberated.

"Ah, right, right. I forgot that you're not familiar with these terms." Lucio said, hiding the mirror in the table's drawer. "To start, Arcanists are those that specialize in everything related to souls. They read, connect souls, and even detach souls from the body. If you are too weak in mind or heart, they could easily slip inside you and read your deepest secrets, fears, desires; it's like reading an open book about you. To put it simply, Arcanists are magic users that attack from the inside, they destroy their targets using their own fear or weaknesses against them. They could corrupt your mind, your heart or even make you believe that right is wrong or up is down. It's a dangerous and very manipulative magic, but it has its uses."