Mythic (NaNoWriMo14)

Chapter 2 - Chaotic

Dedicated to Prisim. Check out her NaNo story, Lady of the Mysts ^_^ 

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Chapter 2 - Chaotic

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The beginning of the ceremony had gone smoothly enough. 

The spirit Mythic, Emmiline, had taken up her position with a confidence Nazine could only wish he had. She stood on the rune-inscribed rim of the portal and raised her key without hestiation, speaking clearly and precisely just as Nazine himself had been taught to do. He studied her every move, watching as she immersed herself in the ley she called from the portal's depth. 

Nazine could barely blink, watching as Emmiline entered the dangerous part of the ceremony. 

No one breathed as the ley formed a tether, a flowing river from the heart of the portal to Emmiline and curled into a white shell around her. It was so pure in colour that it split the spectrum and sent individual colours flying in every direction. It grew thicker, hiding Emmiline's body, and Nazine caught himself muttering under his breath. 

"Come on," he whispered, unable to help it. "Use your key. Don't let it overwhelm you. Push it back." 

A nearby member of the Order snapped her head around. "Quiet, initiate." 

Nazine bit his lip. If they didn't see Emmiline's crystal light soon, it'd mean--

Relief exhaled from at least five nearby people including himself as the ley began to turn a pale blue, the same colour as Emmiline's crystal key as she took control. The colour grew into a brilliant glow, bathing the inner ring of the sanctuary in its brilliant sheen. 

She did it!

Then, everything went wrong. 

Nazine felt it before anyone else realised Emmaline was in trouble. His gut clenched. A void entered his mind, the subconscious part of him that touched the ley as something deep within the portal rumbled, sending ripples through the air that made him shiver. There was a hole within the sea of order, a bubble that shouldn't have existed rising to the surface faster than anything he'd ever felt. 

Nazine clenched the arms of his chair. "Cayden--"

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. As the word left his lips, the bubble surfaced. Murky streaks of black and brown polluted the pure shades, and before Nazine or anyone else could react, it was racing up the river and straight into Emmiline's key. 

She screamed as her light was swallowed. Nazine was frozen in terror, knowing he should do something, knowing he should get up, try to help, when Cayden was in front of him, sword free of its sheath. 

"Chaotic!" 

Cayden's shout snapped Nazine out of it. He stood up, feeling his own ley burn within him, ready to ignite when Cayden held a hand out behind him, never taking his eyes off the spot where Emmiline was being consumed. 

"Nazine, you stay out of this," he said. "I can't--"

"I can help!" said Nazine. "What are you going to do against her?"

Cayden was shaking his head. "I'm trained to do this. You aren't. I can't do what I need to do if I'm too busy making sure the chaotic isn't going to kill you to take it down."

"That's not a chaotic, Cayden!" screamed Nazine. "That's Emmiline, we were talking to her ten minutes ago!"

"And now, she will not hesitate to kill you!" Cayden said, the tip of his sword grazing the ground. "You know as well as I do that it's going to come straight after you. Chaotics sense sources of ley. They have no purpose other than to devour it in any way possible, and that puts you on the menu."