Crystalline Chaos

by Gabriela Voelske

  “Doesn’t that mean that they’re essentially dying?” Crono added. It was an interesting point indeed; it proved that the creatures were not here out of their own will, simply spending time within this plane must be agony for them.

  “It would seem that way. We would have to find one that had died naturally to confirm this, though,” Ciel replied; in the blinding snow, it would be a difficult find, assuming one had even died within a decent distance of the village.

  “Is there anything about natural chaos magic within there Sakura?” Ferdan enquired, allowing her to continue with her reading.

  “There’s some information about elemental affinity and it touches on what elements they can use, but there’s nothing that directly says chaos or even a word that could possibly mean the same,” Sakura admitted, though it had been the answer Ferdan was looking for. For chaos magic to be present there was definitely an outside source affecting the creatures, driving them to the same controlled insanity that Sakura had experienced. “Hmm, what else… Tough skin similar to a carapace. They appear to be blind, instead relying on sound and something about an ability to sense the mana within the bloodstream, or mana in general.” The last few facts provided some useful information for all of them; a mage would be the first targeted by the creatures and as such could act as a decoy for one not so magically notable. “That could explain why that creature didn’t react to me until I stabbed it,” she commented, pointing to where the wound on her leg had been for some of the confused onlookers.

  There were a lot of new questions raised by this and they went on debating into the night. Soon it came time for dinner so they dispersed and started preparing for that, still chattering to each other.

  Now everyone was distracted, Sakura decided to use the opportunity to attempt to talk to Ciel privately. She spotted him quickly but he was speaking with Drake. With a swift step, she snuck up behind them and waited until Drake was no longer looking in Ciel’s direction. She then grabbed Ciel by the waist and dragged him off to a side room, leaving Drake rather confused as to where he had just gone to. Ciel had been too startled to react, and when he turned around to look at the culprit, he broke into laughter.

  “You could have just asked you know,” he chuckled, giving her a playful nudge.

  “I’ve never really been someone who asks questions first,” she admitted with some embarrassment as her antics have gotten her into trouble before due to it. Now they were stood facing each other, it became apparent just how much shorter she was compared to him. She stood just shy of two-thirds of his height.

  “The fact you’re short is cute, Sakura and you’re certainly not lacking anything in personality or looks either,” Ciel grinned, the line was crude but he was unsure how to speak to her. Regardless, she blushed at the comment and turned away, absently scratching her ear. He lowered himself down and embraced her; she was slow to return the embrace but did so firmly.

  “What of our fathers?” While she certainly felt something for Ciel, it was impossible to ignore the bad blood between the two families. He thought for a while; it was a large sticking point between the two of them. He was close to his father and from what he had experienced so far, she was close to hers.

  “They would be wrong to deny it,” he remarked, nuzzling her neck. “Who knows, perhaps they’ll see sense.” Given his blood relation he could have pretty much any woman he wanted, except her it would seem. He just hoped his father would be willing to look past Amnur’s history.

  “Let’s join back up with the others for dinner before they worry where we’ve gone to,” Sakura replied, trying to shift the mood back more positive. He nodded and lifted her up off the ground, grinning at her embarrassed protests.

  “What? It’s not like they’re not going to find out anyway.”

  He strolled out into the room, carrying her in his arms which attracted the attention of those in the room. Sakura turned her head away from the crowd, not wanting to observe their possibly doubtful expressions. Opting to position himself beside Drake, Ciel sat down and put Sakura down between them. Drake fussed her head, causing her hair to become messy, a fact which irritated her.

  “Oi, that takes a while to neaten out you know,” she growled; horns weren’t the easiest things to brush one’s hair around.

  “You’re more than welcome to try it on me,” he laughed, prodding her in the chest. Sakura gazed up with a resigned expression; it was not a wise challenge to follow-up on.

  Crono watched on from a distance. It was heart-warming to see them accept her so readily, even when they knew who she was. Ferdan was busy working with the blood sample; he had exhausted most of the tests he could perform with not a whole lot of success. It showed that Amnur’s mana concentration was lower than expected, but that could be down to anything, even Ferdan misjudging his original mana level. He groaned and poured some of the blood into another flask, ensuring it was not much more than a thin layer. Depositing the second sample close to the fire, he sat down and awaited the approaching meal.

  The dinner was calm, apart from the odd bursts of chatter and hushed whispers. Ferdan had finished his meal hastily and retrieved the sample near the fire, holding it up to the light. As he tilted the flask, he distinctly saw something stuck to the bottom of the flask, catching the light as he turned the flask. Fetching a long metal tool from one of his many pouches, he stuck it inside the flask, scraping at the thing stuck to the bottom. A small bit broke free and he hoisted it out, placing it onto a piece of cloth. After a while of inspection, it became obvious what he was looking at and it repulsed him greatly. “This is bad.”

  “What’s wrong?” Crono asked, wary of the sudden outburst. Bad was not what he wanted to hear.

  “Amnur’s mana is crystallising within his blood,” he replied, rolling the crystalline lump around in his fingers.

  “What will it do to him?” Ciel spoke up before Sakura had the chance to, his arm resting on her shoulder to hold her back.

  “Aside from the eventual death from mana deprivation, having sharp objects travel around the inside of your body never ends well,” Ferdan admitted. He had never dealt with a disease before, or whatever this could be called. It was worrying that such a thing could be inflicted with a single hit from one of those creatures; he didn’t even know which creature had been carrying the toxin.

  Sakura collapsed where she sat. The news was dire, Amnur could perish and Ferdan was not any the wiser on how to fix such a thing. Ciel and Drake rushed to comfort her but she was cold to their response, pushing away any attempts they made.

  “If I brought you one of those creatures alive, could you do something?”

  “Well, yes, possibly,” Ferdan replied. It was enough for her; she stood up and leapt over Drake’s hand as he tried to stop her, running up to the door and departing. The rest just sat there, dumbfounded at the whole thing, unsure how to react.

  Chapter 9: The Council’s Truth

  Sebastian arrived alongside Uriel at the main entrance of the Magi Council’s academy. Confused onlookers knew not how to react to seeing the two working together, opposed to ripping each other’s throats out. The doors were hastily opened for them, revealing mages scrambling to get out of the way. They knew something was wrong, the serious expressions on the two leaders told them enough.

  A young mage cowered in front of them, unsure whether he should complete his duty or just flee like the rest. “Can I help you?” he squeaked, nervously shuffling from foot to foot, trying his best to avoid eye contact with either of them.

  “Take us to whoever you have in charge here currently,” Uriel demanded, causing the boy to flinch before him.

  “Certainly,” the boy replied, his voice was shaking. The fact Uriel had emphasised the word us surprised him, for those two to be working together on such a level something was seriously wrong. He beckoned for them to follow him and set off in the direction of a staircase, to which they followed, remaining silent as they went.

  They ascended two fl
ights of stairs before Sebastian paused, taking a look above him. The stairs went on as far as he could see, hugging the wall of the massive spire. “Are we going all the way to the top?” Sebastian inquired, causing the other two to stop in their tracks.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” the mage sighed; the stairs were dreaded by anyone who desired to see the Archmage, an effective deterrent in hindsight. Uriel threw a glance at Sebastian and nodded, he knew what the demon had in mind. Sebastian lifted the boy up into his arms, nearly causing him to scream. With a strong flap of his wings, he took to the air, with the angel following close behind as they ascended through the middle of the winding tower. They landed on the open platform before the doorway and Sebastian set the mage back down on the ground, who was rather startled by the short flight.

  “Well, that beats the stairs,” he absently remarked, staring back down the staircase. “I’ll wait out here as I assume you wish to keep the conversation private.” He gave a low bow. In reality, he just didn’t feel like walking back down the staircase. Hearing their escort’s statement, Sebastian took a deep breath and knocked on the door; he was wary at just how the Archmage would react to seeing them stood on his doorstep.

  “I’m not interested,” a voice replied from inside, irking Uriel who was beside Sebastian now. He silently gestured to Sebastian, who backed away to allow him to do whatever he was about to do, before pressing his hand against the lock of the door. A ring of light appeared, followed by a reverberating snap. One way to open a door was to remove the lock completely after all.

  “Ah,” the mage who had escorted them up murmured, “that’s not going to go down well.”

  Uriel pushed the door open and was greeted by a rather unamused looking man, whose robes came over rather pompous even for the angel. They were threaded with expensive iridescent threads that displayed a rainbow of colours, then there were the rich gemstones that were set within polished metal bracelets and necklaces that lay on top of the lavish robe.

  “I didn’t realise I walked in on Thardosean,” Uriel whispered, loud enough for Sebastian to hear behind, who shrugged with a bit of a grin. The Human King was well known for his love of fineries, he often wore over the top garments and accessories.

  With a wave of the Archmage’s hand, the door slammed behind them and a light green veil was projected along the walls. He did not state its purpose, but a barrier to prevent sound escaping was the most feasible reason.

  “I do not appreciate pretentious miscreants barging into my room.” His voice was lavished with anger toward those stood before him, rapping his fingers on his chair. Uriel snapped and Sebastian soon found himself having to physically restrain the angel, not that he blamed the feelings of contempt Uriel held towards the mage. Humans usually knew better than to anger one or other of the races, more so directly uttering something to the leader of either race. “I will not dignify you with my name, so do not waste my time with yours,” the mage spoke before Sebastian could speak up; he had half a mind to just release Uriel to have his way with the bastard.

  “What are you hiding regarding the storm?” Uriel snarled, still trying to pull away from Sebastian. The mage looked up and regarded them for a second, folding his arms on the desk he was sat at.

  “Nothing,” he replied plainly, his expression unwavering.

  “Then what the hell do you call that mage that was residing within those bloody spires?”

  That statement caught the Archmage off guard, his expression was starting to sour.

  “What proof do you have, angel?” the mage replied coolly, the impersonal remark was almost enough to send him into an attempt to strangle the man. Uriel was hardly unremarkable for an angel, even one who had never seen him before quickly picked up on who he was.

  “A little thing called phase walking,” Sebastian spoke up from behind, drawing a sharp look from the mage. Of course, the demon had ties to Solomon, the child of the accursed mage that was Raz’iel, the mage knew. He sat at his desk, stumped for a response; it would be hard to deny such a claim now.

  “Not so cocky now are you?” Uriel mocked; he was starting to calm down after seeing the mage defeated by the statement. It hung in the air as the mage considered his response, fiddling with his lumpy accessories.

  “The Council have wondered for a while, if that these events are more than random coincidences.”

  “Coincidences that you appear to have a hand in,” Sebastian remarked. The mage continued looking away, to his surprise.

  “We may have had a hand in this, indirectly, some time ago.”

  “A bit more than indirectly,” Uriel replied snidely, “the whole thing reeks of unruly magic.” The mage exhaled; it was a page of history that would never have occurred if the cleansing had worked as intended.

  “A few years ago, we learnt of a mage who could wield chaos magic,” he began, absently scratching the arm of his chair, avoiding the glares of those in the room. “We initiated the process of cleansing, where we removed the threat that he posed.”

  “You set out to murder him, basically,” Sebastian interjected, he knew a little of the process after Solomon had received information that a similar thing was being planned against him.

  “Not very pleasantly I’d imagine either,” Uriel added. He had since relaxed and been released from Sebastian’s grasp.

  “We assumed him dead,” the mage responded, dodging the remarks that were being thrown at him.

  “Why did you not check for a body?” Sebastian inquired.

  “Because they obliterated the place so thoroughly there wouldn’t have been a body remaining,” Uriel stated before the mage could reply; he resorted to a meek nod as he could not deny the truth. Sebastian thought for a moment, their target must have only barely escaped for their attacks rarely bore warning.

  “He must have drawn himself into the Nether Plane,” the Archmage replied, watching Sebastian try to piece the events together. “Such creatures were documented living there by ancestors long since passed, we’ve since lost the tomes that detailed it, however.”

  “How do we deal with it then?” Uriel demanded, receiving a glance from Sebastian at the use of we.

  “All things have a weakness, even the best mage still lacks at close distance,” he mused, “stand and unite before his tactics weaken and divide you.” Uriel turned back and looked at Sebastian, who was thinking about the words.

  “Attack before he whittles us down too much, in other words,” Sebastian commented, the Archmage nodding his head at the statement.

  “Use your racial traits to your advantage and you’ll find yourself in a favourable position.” Humans lacked the strength and size of the demons and angels and it was the increased size that allowed them to better attack the weak spots of the creatures.

  The green barrier dropped and he waved them out of the room; he had said all he was going to for now. They left without a word and rejoined the young mage waiting outside and returned back to the entrance, bidding farewell to him as they departed.

  * * *

  Solomon was sat beside Arariel’s bedside, watching Dumon tend to the herbs located within the hall, harvesting those that were mature enough. He could use his magic to heal up the gaping wound left by the magical assault, but due to the inherently negative view of blood magic he wished to ask Arariel’s approval first. It had been well over a day and the angel was still unconscious; it was not unusual considering he was attacked mid phase walk, though. Solomon was still worried, however. He felt responsible for the young angel’s injuries. The feeling was unusual, the two races discontent for each other dictated he should despise the angel, but he felt the opposite if anything. He tried to tell himself it was just a one off, Arariel was not an example of the whole race; he did wonder, though.

  Drumming his fingers on the bedside table, he silently observed Arariel. Sebastian walked into the room, causing Solomon to direct his attention towards him. He just not long returned from his trip to Aelburn and it was the first time Solomo
n had seen him since then.

  “How’d it go?” Dumon asked nonchalantly, still tending to the various herbs that were scattered around.

  “Well, they admitted fault, in a sense,” Sebastian responded. Solomon was astounded, he had expected them to deny it thoroughly. “You were correct in what you found out, Solomon,” the King smiled, the fact that they had not been injured in vain was a relief to hear.

  “That’s good, now if only Arariel would wake up,” Solomon sighed once more, turning his gaze back towards the sleeping angel.

  “Still nothing?”

  “He’s been out for over a day now.”

  “Nothing I would have cause for concern about yet,” Dumon spoke up, finishing up with his activities and heading over to join them. “The kid suffered quite the injury; the shock of it alone could keep him out for a day.” The explanation was enough for Sebastian, he did not doubt for a second that the aged healer would be neglectful in his duties, regardless of the race he was tending.

  Dumon stood in front of Sebastian, turning his gaze up in order to make eye contact with the taller King. For a new blood demon, Dumon was strange. He was short, wingless, with no horns and no notable physical strength to his body to make up for the lost features. Despite this, everyone wisely respected the demon as he was possibly the oldest still alive in the eastern side of the Central Isles at over two hundred years old. Sebastian himself was only in his fifties, which was still young for a demon.

  “Did they recommend any course of action?” Dumon enquired, he knew that it had been discussed; Sebastian wouldn’t have left without a decent set of answers.

  “A direct assault, as soon as possible. I have discussed it some with Uriel, but we need to contact Thardosean as well.”

  “The location is vulnerable from attacks on both sides,” Solomon spoke up, “it would be wise to try and get in contact with Ciel.” Sebastian took a sharp breath over the suggestion. Knowing Ciel was trapped on the other side was painful for him; he could only assume the situation was as bad as they were experiencing. He somehow doubted that contacting them would be that simple, but he had to hope that Solomon could pull through.