Summoners: The Forbidden Ritual

Chapter 19: Bed-Ridden Mages

Finally home, Lyle firsts asks Aryna "How long have I been gone?" Aryna replied "A week, a lot has happened, Siv is still nowhere to be found. He wasn't in the same realm as you."

Lyle tried to remember where he last saw their Mentor, "He was battling Wardens in Desmela, then he threw me through a portal here."

Aryna sighed, "We tried searching Desmela, but the Circle disapproved of our investigation, must have been a Warden Illusion." Lyle tried to sit up.

"We have to find him, Siv is a critical member of the Resistance and if we lose him, our plans, strategies, tactics, will be as novice as it can be. He's our battlemaster, mentor, and ArchSummoner."

Aryna stands up as she pushes Lyle back down, "I know, but to find him we need your strength. Now, do the right thing and rest. We'll take care of it." "Really? How would you manage that?"

Aryna proceeded to the door "We got you out didn't we? I'm sure it wont be that hard to find Siv as well, besides, I grew stronger since the last time we met." Lyle chuckles as he lies back down and rests. "Just please don't die."

She walks out and paces over to the center space, where Henry, Michael, Nadia, and Veronica are forming a meeting. Aryna joins in saying, "So, any plans so far?"

Nadia uses the screen to show files of known realms where the Wardens could be occupying. "For the Wardens to create an Illusion, they really need a battleground, someplace they fully control. Here are the records of known Warden-held Realms, any one of these could be the one they used for their illusion against Siv and Lyle."

"Great, so how do we find him?" Henry sighs "It's not that simple, Wardens know how to block mana tracking and portal magic, which makes it near impossible for us to get inside the realm without them knowing." Aryna counter-argued, "But we still need to find a way to enter each realm."

Michael then conspired a theory, "But what if we don't need portal magic, all we need is a way to send a message to Siv and he might probably muster up the strength to return."

Henry was annoyed, "If he had the strength to cast a portal then he would be here right now. Without us knowing the exact location, there is no way to communicate with him."

They ended the meeting with no answers, no plan, no strategy, all they can do now is pray that Siv was still alive and well. Aryna walks back to her room, sits on her bed and listened to her music, dreaming about a way to find their mentor.

Someone knocks on her door, but due to the loud music through her ear-pieces she didn't hear a single outside sound. The person walked nearer to Aryna, and sat right beside her in bed, it was Falion.

Aryna was surprised, she immediately took off her music and looked at Falion with confusion. Falion smiles and looks at her back, "Lyle's back, so we finally have a leader, but have you tried to find a way to get Siv back as well?"

She sighs, "No, my mind is pure blank." Falion communes before replying "I know there's a way, but for me, getting Siv back shouldn't be a big of a priority as we think it should be."

Aryna was shocked "Why? What's more important than finding the ArchSummoner?" "I treated Lyle, he was mumbling in his sleep. He dreamt of something, he whispered two words that grabbed my attention: orb of ages."

Unknown to her, Aryna asked "Orb of Ages? What's that?" "The angels blessed us with weapons and objects to use against the first demon lord, Ideris. The Orb of Ages was one of those, it can be used to see both in the future and the past. It can also be used as a conductor to control the minds of several armies without a sweat."

Aryna was amazed, but at the same time, her mind was mixed. "So if Lyle mumbled it, what does that mean?" "Lyle doesn't know about the Orb, no one does, but the Weapons Master and the ArchSummoner. Siv was one for secrets so I know friendships wouldn't cloud against his own morals. Me on the other hand, I simply forget about these topics so i'm not really a gossip guy."

Nightfall came upon Donarium and Falion explained the same information to Nadia, Michael, and Veronica. Falion then suggested, "If Lyle knows the location, then it means it has significance not only to us but to Valerius too, if he finds out where the Orb is then we may very well lose."

Nadia brought up the records of the Orb of Ages from their secret archives, "The Orb's location is unknown ever since the Warden-Loyalist war, the High King hid it away to a place where no Warden would think to look. At least, that's what it said."

Lyle then walked down from the steps of the metal stairs, slowly limping his way to the CenterSpace, "Then we find that Orb at all costs, if the High King hid it from the Wardens then he would've made it sure that we'll find it." Aryna ran up to Lyle, helping him walk "You shouldn't be out of bed yet."

Michael chuckles, "Welcome back, Dawnspell." Lyle replies "I see you found out about your friends, Aryna. Had they show themselves sooner we could've been better."

Veronica smiles, "We were busy with the Scouts. Our numbers are thinner than ever, careful assignments and posts were only recently given, and we're assigned to help you guys."

Nadia then insisted Lyle to go back and rest, but after moments of declining it was decided that he would spearhead the operation but stay inside Donarium, leaving Aryna and the others the task of going out onto the field to search for the Orb.

Scouring through the records, Lyle was using the computers all night for a possible lead on the orb. It was three in the morning when Aryna walked over to the CenterSpace, wearing only her night garments, cotton pyjamas and a shirt.

She noticed Lyle staying near the monitors, reading manuscripts and tomes. "You know you shouldn't tire yourself with information, nothing will get inside your head. You know how that is, you were in High School with me." Lyle chuckles, "You're right, but magic has its ways of helping you even in the most petty situations."

Aryna laughed, "Don't tell me you used magic to cheat." Lyle looks at her "I used magic to help my brain remember the facts and terminologies, formulas and every other detail. It's no fun when it's that easy."

Aryna then grabbed a chair and sat down next to Lyle, "I'll help you then, I couldn't sleep anyway." Lyle brought up files from the computer, "Here, if you can quickly scan through these for anything about the Orb then at least we have something."

All throughout the early dawn, the two searched for clues nonstop, until Lyle found a particular file named Foresight and Hindsight it was an educational tome, made by an ArchSummoner decades ago, though the name was not stated, it seemed to be a tad ancient.

Reading through the texts, it stated that the Orb was used for Earth Witchcraft for a time when Merlin used the Orb to foresee King Arthur's fate in England. Ever since then they entrusted the Orb to a woman simply aliased as "The Denvir Oracle."

Her location is unknown, but rest assured, if anyone has the Orb it's her. Lyle quickly formed another meeting, showing these facts saying "If we can find this Oracle, then we can find the Orb." Henry intruded, "That's quite impossible."

Aryna then asked, "How is it impossible?" Henry then sighed, "Based on my sources, the Oracle died years ago, without her leaving any clue. She was just discovered as a corpse: naked but untouched, her belongings: stolen, and her soul: sent to the All-Maker."

Lyle was suspicious, "How are you sure about your information? And how did you know in the first place?" Henry looked at them all, "It's confidential."

Aryna then insisted her father to tell them but almost to no avail. Lyle was furious, too long had it been that Henry was hiding secrets from them.

Full of anger, Lyle quickly drew out his QuickBlade and pushed it's tip against Henry's neck.

"The more you keep secrets, the more you lose our trust, Henry." Aryna tried to calm Lyle down, but her words had no meaning, Lyle's mind was set on murdering Henry "If you have nothing to say then you have no use to us."

Henry then surrendered as he slowly pushed Lyle's blade away from his skin, "I know the Oracle is dead, because she was Aryna's mother."