Breaking Light

Chapter 11

Stag dusted his hands, delivering the last of the casualties from the battlefield. The grandmaster of the Academy was among the fallen. Died protecting a group of children who were stuck inside one of the buildings in the bazaar. His body was ravaged, completely covered in blood that masked deep gashes all over his body. One of the high counselors stood near the bodies of the fallen who were covered in navy blue sheets. Their friends and families gathered around the deceased. Soft sobs and light chatter filled the silence. Children brought flowers, some had brought letters while some read over their loved ones. The high counselor began his sermon honoring the dead.

"We are gathered here at the dawn. Marking one of the most tragic nights in our history. Let us pray together for our fallen, who gave their lives for us ever so gallantly. May the light guide them through the void and may we find them again happy and proud. Their sacrifice will not be in vain..." The sermon went on.

Stag approached Aria who was standing with her arms crossed, observing in silence.

"It's never easy, witnessing so much death." He said in a light voice.
"No. It never is." She responded, her eyes still focused on ahead.
The sermon ended and the bodies were buried. There was crying. Everyone left some sort of a memento. Soon it was over and people started to leave. Aria lifted her palm and gathered a bit of magic, a rose started forming from thin air. She tossed the rose over the ground that split into hundreds of petals, gliding, and covered the ground.
"Hmm. Neat." Stag said, moved by her gesture.

"Come on Redstone, we need to meet with Michael." The two turned around and left.

An entire team of clean up crew materialized near all the rubble of the destroyed bazaar through a portal that disappeared as soon as it showed up. People in uniforms scurried about and arranged in a neat line. They raised their hands in unison and gathered a fair amount of energy. Suddenly the debris started floating off the ground, spinning in a wide circle. Everything seemed to slowly come back to its place and it was not long before the entire bazaar was back in shape. It was like nothing ever happened except for the fact that there were no people.
Energy spheres that lit the place started manifesting themselves and filled the place with a familiar warm glow. Merchants were the first to arrive. Setting up their stalls, followed by a few customers and life went on inside the Grand Hall.

Aria and Stag walked towards another set of a stairway, intricately carved and exquisitely adorned the same way as it was at the entrance. Energy spheres lighting the stairway glowed brighter as Aria took the steps. It was always fascinating to her. The stairway led up to one floor that connected the Grand Hall to the high council's office and the administration block. Her parents were meeting the high council for debriefing and Michael had asked to meet her as soon as she could. It was two days ago that her father pulled her into Limbo; the place in between the planes of existence. A buffer between the realm of shadows and our world. Two days since her life took an interesting turn. Michael was a Guardian, a mage elite, responsible for the very stability of reality itself, a protector of mankind. Each generation had a handful of Guardians spread around the globe and Michael Redstone had been a mentor to most of them. Nobody knew how old he was. Some ancient scriptures and murals had his representation one way or the other. Some even say he was there at the beginning of the Order, a founding member. Shrouded in mystery. His existence was mostly confined to limbo but here he was, walking among the people in the real world. And Aria was glad for it. She had reached a large closed door that leads to the council chambers where the most important meetings were held. Muffled voices of people arguing could be heard from outside.
"Should we knock or just barge in like we own the place?" Stag tapped her shoulder lightly.
"I think it would not be wise to just intrude." Aria was about to knock on the door when suddenly it slowly opened on its own.
The chamber was a large place. Circular seating arrangement for the members with five seats at the far end for the council heads. The room was full of people who turned their heads slowly to see who had arrived. Michael was standing in the middle of the round chamber, one hand in his pocket while he casually smoked his pipe with the other. Dad has got style, Aria thought as she smiled at him. He winked at Aria.
"Ah. You're finally here. Take a seat." Melissa's familiar voice came from one of the seats of the council heads.
"Stag, you are to wait outside." Stag simply bowed in courtesy and left. Aria quickly took a seat that had her name on it and Michael came to sit next to her.
"Dad, what's going on?" She whispered as the council heads started their discussion.
"Nothing much. I told them what they needed to know. They didn't like it. As usual." He replied casually.
"Yeah, I can imagine. I hate these meetings."
"Haha, so do I kiddo. But your mother has made some valid points. And I am more than inclined to pay her attention."
"How are you here? I mean I'm happy that you are here and I would like it if you stayed but..." She asked.
"I'm here because this is where I am needed for now. And I will stay for as long as it takes."
"I'm glad" she smiled
"They're going to take your account of our meeting in the Limbo. Keep your responses limited and concise. Do not give them any more than they ask. And Aria..." Aria caught his gaze and understood at that moment.
"The tome remains a secret. I know Father. Don't worry."
"My little girl." He smiled at her.
A council head got up from his seat.
"The council requests Aria Redstone, to come to the floor."
Aria got up and walked to the middle of the chamber, surrounded by many eyes, she was never shy and kept her head high.
"Council members, respected heads, Mother."
"The council acknowledges you Aria, we have some questions"
The meeting went on as the council took their time.

Outside, Stag hovered above the ground, moving back and forth, hands behind his back. Unrest radiating from him. The chamber doors opened and a flood of people left the room followed by Michael and Aria.
"Took you long enough. What was that all about?!" Stag asked the two.
"Have you forgotten about the time when the red herring got loose and YOU had to face the council?" Michael lightly tapped on Stag's shoulder who just went quiet.
"HEY, THAT WAS NOT MY FAULT!"
"I never said it was," Michael smirked as they walked away.
"Aria, we need to teach you a few things, I wanted this to proceed a little differently but We don't have much time. I've always kept you away from demonology but now is the time we changed that."
"OOH GOODY GOODY GOODY! DOES that mean I get to play with little miss Redstone?!" Stag got excited.
Aria lifted her palm and gathered a small bit of energy that concentrated into a sphere of dark matter with a purple glow. Her eyes glowed a dull orange and she had a dangerous look on her face.
"Oh, game on Demon." She challenged.
"Oh, I am going to LOVE this!!" Stag replied
"ENOUGH!!" Michael's baritone voice echoed in their brains as if he hit both of them with a psychic wave and they both tensed up and looked at him apologetically.
"THIS IS NO TIME FOR JOKES. WE HAVE LIMITED TIME AND YOU HAVE A LOT TO LEARN."
"Yes, Dad. I understand" She molded the dark matter sphere into a diamond and pressed on a little amount of her will into it causing it to shatter into a million pieces.
Michael rolled his eyes and only gestured her to move.
They all headed for Aria's old room which was in the residential block, they crossed the administration section, another large wooden door opened on its own as Michael and Aria walked closer. The door opened up to a gigantic park. The sky was dark, dimly lit up by the shimmer of a million stars. The moon was as clear as it could be. A gravel pathway meandered through decorated vegetation and the whole garden was illuminated by similar energy spheres intricately held in place by lamp posts that were woven around the spheres in mesmerizing patterns. The air was refreshing despite the night time and one could get lost admiring the beauty of the whole place. Aria and Michael walked the pathway at a steady pace and Stag closely followed. They came around a small grove adorned with flowering plants. The small place was colorful and the scent of the flowers was beautiful. A swarm of fireflies brightly glowed around the hedges. A single pond of clear water sparkled with the reflection of the starry sky and the glow of fireflies. It was peaceful, a place where one could meditate for hours, or have a romantic night out. Aria had remembered this place from a long time ago now, Wilson Garrow, Her long time love interest had brought her here and she had a pretty good time gazing at the stars among other things. Aria could not help but smile, How long had it been now? she thought. She had lost all contact with Wilson, all she knew was that he had been sent away for advanced training in the Arcane defense. She let out a short sigh and focused on the matter at hand.
The walkway led to a large opening with a crossroad marked with a few signs with directions.
"Residential block..." Michael said pointing in the direction of the sign.
A little while later they arrived at the residential zone, the official housing scheme of the Academy. Huts of varying sizes and shapes spread as far as the eye could see. There was a circle drawn nearby, Runes surrounding it. The three stood inside.
"Aisle 42, space number 2176," Aria whispered and suddenly they were in front of her hut.
Aria walked up and unlocked the door after 5 years.
"Home sweet home..."