Into the Depths (Ceil's Journey Part II)

By Evan Drake

© 2019, Evan Drake, All Rights Reserved

“Come now, that can't be the extent of your power can it?" Simel said.

            Ceil clenched her teeth against the pain and exhaustion and pushed herself to her footpaws. The old hound looked down at her from the end of his wrinkled muzzle. His black and brown spotted fur was thinning and he stood slightly hunched over as if the plum robes he wore were too heavy for him.

            So why was this bone-rail thin, old canid currently kicking her ass?

            Ceil took a moment to steady herself. Her chest burned from the effects of Simel's last spell, a gaping hole in her robe exposing part of her breasts. If this were an actual duel, she would be dead now. She ignored her indecency and adopted another combat stance.

            A smile appeared on Simel's wrinkled face. “You're much tougher than my last apprentice. She was more worried about her tattered robes than practicing her spells."

            “Or maybe she caught on that you're a lecherous old fart," Ceil shot back. She was going to pay for that remark, but she was already taking a beating, a snappy comeback was the only satisfaction she was getting.

            With a simple flick of his tail, several orbs appeared in the air behind him. Another flick and the orbs streaked toward Ceil at high speed.

            Ceil barely managed to form a barrier in time. The two spells collided, light flashing before her eyes. Ceil covered her eyes and focused on keeping the barrier up.

            “What did I say about taking your eyes off your opponent?" Simel cried.

            Before Ceil could react, she was struck with a powerful punch to the gut. She doubled over and threw up all over her footpaws. No way. How could he move that fast and break through my barrier so easily?

            “Pathetic. Did your sister teach you anything? That barrier wouldn't have stopped a blunt dagger let alone full-powered spell." He turned his back to her, folded his paws behind him. “Get yourself cleaned up and get some new robes. Then I want you to practice your aether manipulation for another sparring session next week. If you mess up again, I'll have you demoted back to a fledgling and you can study the basics again with the other pups."

            Ceil struggled to get up even though she was in a great deal of pain and it was difficult to breathe. She didn't bother to cover her chest as she walked through the hall despite the leers and lewd stares from the other apprentices. At this point, she had no shame. The exact details weren't known, but word had gotten around about how she changed teachers. A switch was never a good thing; it usually signaled a teacher or apprentice died other times it was done to prevent a scandal.

            So the halls were flooded with all kinds of scathing rumors. Anything from Ceil had an affair with Arch-Mage Lianea to Deana was helping Ceil cheat because they were related.

            To prevent bringing more shame to the family, Ceil kept her distance from Deana. It proved difficult since the two of them were staying together until Ceil's room was repaired. At least once a day there was always at least one tense moment where the two of them would lock eyes and try to break the awkward silence between them. Lianea avoided Ceil entirely—the two of them hadn't met since they sealed the passage.

Deana hadn't spoken to her since the situation with the statue beneath the college. Lianea had sealed the passage leading to the statue, so Ceil had no way of knowing if she had truly been hallucinating or not. Not that it mattered. Her sister and the Arch-Mage believed she had gone mad, and that was all that mattered.

            Ceil silently entered Deana's room to grab a change of clothes. There sat a small basin by the window. Ceil waved her paw over the basin, manipulating the aether to fill the basin with water which she used to wash the vomit out of her fur.

            She stopped and examined her scared paw. The fur was not likely to grow back. A warning not to let her imagination exceed her reach and a constant reminder of her greatest shame. She wondered if she should start wearing gloves to hide it. Canids would ask questions and any mage would immediately know what happened.

            She growled and resumed cleaning herself up. As she cleaned up, she thought about if Deana had told their family about the incident. Likely not. Ceil was her responsibility. They both faced severe consequences if word got around. A mad mage was anyone's worst nightmare, capable of all kinds of horrific things. Her family would have to kill her if they suspected anything.

Ceil's only hope was to prove her proficiency with magic and not do anything else to draw attention to herself. How great it would be when she finally wiped that smug look off that old hound's face. He wasn't even raised in Vulpran; he migrated with his from Canius during the Seventh Great War, but he thought he could lecture her on the properties of magic?

            Ceil let out a heavy sigh and removed her tattered robe, throwing it to the floor. That hound's skill spoke for itself regardless of where he was from. She still couldn't figure out how he managed to breach her barrier so easily or where that monstrous strength came from.

            I suppose there are a few things I can pick up from that old bastard.

            There was nothing she could about it regardless. She was in no position to change mentors. Until she did something to make a name for herself it was best to keep a low profile.

            She retrieved a book from the shelf and opened it to begin reading when Deana entered the room. The two locked eyes. Ceil wanted to say something, but the look in her sister's eyes said everything she wouldn't want to hear. Disappointment, fear, regret. She was the failure of the family and a joke among her fellow mages, staying afloat by mercy she didn't deserve. Deana looked so tired. She hadn't been sleeping well if at all the last few days. Ceil had no idea what to say, so she pretended to look busy while Deana retrieved something from her room and left.

            Ceil growled and slammed her book on the table. This was not the life she had planned! Now she didn't even feel like studying.

            She got up to return the book. A piece of paper fell out of the book to the floor. Curiosity made her pick it up and read it. It was a note written by a neat hand.

About what we discussed, I think we should do it soon. I will be in the dungeons.

            Ceil raised a brow. Do what? Was this written by Deana or for her? And what was she going to do soon? Her first thought was something with Lianea, but what was the point in a secret note? They could see each other whenever they wanted. But who else could Deana have been talking about? And why would they need to meet in the dungeons? Ever since one of the halls collapsed and several apprentices died, no one was allowed down there anymore. Rumors of ghosts living there kept anyone from sneaking down there anyway. Those trying to confirm or rebuke the rumor were never heard from again.

            She quickly put the note back in the book. There was no point in bringing it up. She was in no position to question anyone.

            As she reached for another book, a thought crossed her mind, what if Deana was going to meet this mystery canid right now?

            Ceil hurried out the room. Deana had a head start, so Ceil moved quickly. Her mind rushed with ideas of why Deana would be doing this. Rumors or not, the dungeons were dangerous.

            Ceil hurried downstairs, past the main hall, and down the only stairwell that hadn't been sealed leading to the dungeons.

            The feeling was so much different from the passage. The silence felt oppressive instead of lonely. The sound of her footpaws echoing in the dark, empty passages sent chills through her bones. Lighting a torch or carrying a lightstone ran the risk of exposure. It was so hard to see. Twice, she walked into something and had to bite back a frightened yelp only to learn it was a wall.

            The deeper she descended, the worse her anxiety became. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and risked an illumination spell. A small ball of concentrated aether hovered over her hand, providing enough light to see some of her surroundings. The shadows dancing at the edges of her vision were worse than the darkness.

            With the spell, she saw she was surrounded by cells. It seemed she had walked into some kind of holding area. Not surprising given she was in the dungeons, but it was still unsettling to think why a college would need holding cells.

            A loud sound echoed through the hall, forcing Ceil out of her thoughts. Her spell became unstable briefly, making the shadows warp and stretch almost like hands stretching to pull her into the abyss.

            She spun around, but there were no other light sources. If Deana was down there, how could she see anything? Ceil wanted so badly to call her sister's name.

            The sound came again, a quick patter of pawsteps on the stones.

            Ceil shivered. That sound, it's too fast for something on two legs, and too loud for a rat. There's something else down here.

            She began backing away. Coming down here was a mistake. It didn't matter what Deana was doing, it would be better to simply ask.

            The moment she turned around, a shadow leaped at her. Ceil screamed and stumbled backward. Her focus gone, the spell dissipated, shrouding them in darkness. The assailant landed on top of her, snarling and clawing at her. Ceil focused the aether around her paws and slammed them against her attacker. It was a weak spell, but useful for knocking away someone at close range.

            The assailant screamed and the weight was thrown off Ceil. She hurried to stand but didn't even have a chance to catch her breath before she heard the creature approaching again.

            Ceil wasn't going to be caught off-guard again. She launched several illumination spells around her. They clung to the walls, providing enough light in the narrow hall to see in all directions. The spells were self-sustaining, so even if she lost concentration, the spells would remain active.

            Large tunnels wide enough for a canid to crawl through had been carved in the walls. The attacker was using the tunnels to circle her, trying to disorient her.

            Shit! This thing is faster than I thought. I can't even see it! What is this thing and why is it down here? HOW did it get down here?

            There was no time to think about it. If didn't matter how or why this thing was here. She wasn't going to let this thing roam free. Sooner or later, Deana was going to come down here, possibly to deal with this thing.

            Ceil focused the aether around her arms, sparks of energy flying from the tips of her paws. She also focused the aether behind her into a barrier. That creature would have to attack from the front.

            The creature's snarl filled the hall. It was quickly drowned out by the creature clawing at the barrier.

            With several illumination spells, a barrier, and the self-defense spell, the air was becoming toxic from the residual aether. She needed to end this battle quickly.

            She spun around. She couldn't see the creature beyond the sparks created by the creature's assault on the barrier. Ceil didn't understand. Any normal creature would've given up upon reaching the barrier. This thing was beating itself bloody even there was a safer, better path just a few feet away.

            No way was Ceil going to face this thing in combat. She focused on the aether forming the barrier. She moved her paws as if holding an invisible ball. The barrier changed shape based on her will, trapping the creature in a ball of concentrated aether. The creature continued to slam against the barrier, the sparks still concealing its identity.

            Now focus, just like the spell I used before. She closed her eyes and focused the aether inside the barrier, gathering it around a single point. A small bead of light began to form—she could feel it.

            The air inside the barrier began to turn into a dark haze. In this kind of state, any living creature would be gasping for air, but the creature showed no signs of slowing down.

            Ceil focused more energy into the spell. The spell began feeding on the aether sustaining the barrier keeping the creature contained.

            Ceil released the spell. It wasn't as strong as she would've liked, but if the barrier was also meant to contain the blast. The ball of aether exploded, shattering the barrier and still generating enough force to knock Ceil on her back.

            The illumination spells were extinguished, the residual aether was released into the air. A heavy silence filled the hall. Ceil groaned and stood again, gasping for air. She needed to get out of there, but she had to know. She had to see the creature's corpse and determine it was dead.

            She risked another illumination spell, holding it high above her head, the other paw outstretched and ready to launch another spell at a moment's notice.

            A canid sat slumped against the wall. Its body was almost torn apart by the explosion of the aether bomb, but there was no mistaking it was Lianea. Her magnificent purple robes were full of holes and tears and covered in stains. In addition to the fresh blood, her black fur was falling out and her body was covered in black sores. This wasn't recent. She had been down there for a while.

            Ceil turned and ran. She was seeing things, had to be. There was no way that…thing was the Arch-mage. She had just seen Lianea not that long ago. And Deana would've said something.

            She didn't stop running until she made it back to Deana's room. The room was empty, good. She immediately removed her dirty robes and threw them in the corner. She filled the basin with water and started scrubbing the dust and dirt from her fur.

            There was no way anyone could know of this. She would need to take the robes outside and burn them. If anyone suspected she had killed the Arch-mage, her life was over.

            But it would be okay. Lianea was roaming in the dungeons, a place no one ever visited. Even if someone went down there, they would never be able to find out who killed her. She just had to keep her head down. Don't do anything to draw attention to herself, and she would be okay.

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