BleedingTears
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Arcanist - Chapter 76
🕑 Added 2025-04-18 22:29:18 +0000 UTCAnsel shivered. He tried to breathe, but his throat felt painfully dry. Parched. There was no air here. Nothing left for him to take in. The thick shroud of fog wavered across him. Upon the throne that loomed at the head of the table, the mysterious statue that never once moved in the short time since he became a part of this assembly finally showed signs of life.
What a terrifying presence!
He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the notification that blinked before him. That had never happened before. The others told him that the System couldn’t see this space-in between. They were somewhere in the Spiritum, the so-called Spiritual World that once belonged to the ancient beings.
I’m… trembling.
[You are in the presence of an Ancient One.]
The words were painted in dark, rich crimson, gleaming like blood recently spilled from a fresh wound. Slowly, they began dripping down from his sight, drops of it merging into the ground underneath his feet, sending a silent tremor across the hall.
Don’t look. Don’t move. Don’t do anything!
He was nothing. As a mere Pretrial Mage who chanced his way into this assembly through sheer luck, he was a fly compared to the other members of the group.
Who would’ve thought the medallion he found buried under his parents’ old house would happen to be an ancient Cursed Artifact? The moment he touched its rusted surface, he found himself seated in this dark hall, surrounded by four others who seemed surprised at his arrival.
That was a month ago… And they all told me the statue of the Surgemasters has never moved in the last hundred years. Last. Hundred. Years!
Why now? What happened?
At first, the fifth and the most famous member of the group, the heretic who tried to uproot Sun’s Church from Melton’s rule, the benevolent Healer who had a cult following across all kingdoms, suddenly returned claiming he was saved by an ancient presence. The man was a legend, a myth whose name was known to all Caligians!
That alone made Ansel giddy like a little kid, but he managed to stay quiet. He’d decided to wait and find just the right time to ask Baht about his Healing magic. As a budding Mage, Ansel had to admit the only thing he cared for was magic and its intricacies!
If he could get Baht to teach him those spells, then he would be the first person to ever Master a spell at the young age of eighteen in the Caligian University of Magical Craft! Then, with the Midnight Assembly on his back, he could join one of the biggest Guilds for his journey across the Broken Lands.
But now… The Masters had returned. The Surgemasters of the old, they had once told him, the one true Ancients who weaved the Spiritum itself from nothingness!
I’m…
Ansel swallowed.
… Too lucky!
Fearful he might be, but in all his eighteen years he had never felt himself this passionate about anything!
…..
The gilded chair grew cold.
Vireth trembled.
The voice spoke to her. Not to her face, but to her core, to the gate hidden inside of her chest, thumping loud across her being. She stared wide-eyed at the figure. He was cloaked in shadows. Waves of fog washed off of him. Only the eyes were there, and in their depths, something was moving.
I can’t… Move.
She couldn’t even blink. All she did was stare at the Surgemaster after he asked that simple question.
He said ‘Tell me more about this Belgrave’… He doesn’t know? Perhaps he doesn’t remember? Or… He’s from a time when Belgrave didn’t even exist! That means he must be from the Ancient Age when there was no such a thing as the Haven’s Reach.
She smacked herself mentally. She was so stupid! Of course the Surgemaster was from the Ancient Age. After all, history might be riddled with false prophecies and purposeful deceits of the ones who wrote it, but even then, some stories carried an inkling of truth.
The Surgemasters were gone when the Ancient Age ended. Everyone who dabbled in occult practices knew that fact. They were the ones who started that mythical age, and in the end, they closed that chapter of the history.
Why now? Is he… the one who saved Baht? Of course he was! Who else would’ve helped him for no reason?
She thought of reaching to the threads of fate around her, to see if she could gather anything that could help her understand what was happening. As a disciple of the Fate’s Path, she could even feel the threads in the Spiritum where they existed in a lull.
No… If the Surgemaster feels it, he wouldn’t spare me. I have to mind my manners in His presence. I can’t act like this is another assembly!
But she couldn’t stay silent either. That would be a terrible offense against the Master! He asked them a question. Demanded in that deep, indifferent voice information about Belgrave. Someone had to tell him. Someone—
I can’t speak… What if I say the wrong word? What if I make him angry by pure accident, and he disintegrates my soul into thousands of pieces! Worse, he could scorch my core with a blink of his eyes. Or freeze my body in time. Anything! He could do anything, and I will just… die!
She could be a disciple of Fate, but Surgemasters had been known for their mastery over the Spirit and the Arcane. With but a gaze they could see through a person’s secrets and take control of one’s mind as easily as plucking a leaf from a lush tree!
I’m… a Level 300 Veilwarden. I’m a Hexmender! I can speak a few words without messing up. I can do that, can’t I? Yes, surely I can—
“Belgrave?” Baht’s voice stabbed into Vireth’s mind just as she was gathering her courage to become the first one to speak. “Surgemaster… Or would you rather prefer we addressed you the way the Ancients did in the past?”
The Ancients did? That was… Oh! I know it!
“Arcanist!” Vireth nearly screamed.
Everyone snapped suddenly at her, horrified. Her skin prickled under their gazes. She gulped as cold gripped her. Slowly, painfully, she turned toward the Magister, heart thumping in her chest.
Awareness crept in.
There was only one thing in her mind as she stooped under the weight of the Magister’s gaze.
I’m going to die.
And there was nothing anyone could do about it.
……
Valens tapped a finger to the throne. Heard the stone respond with a loud, rich beat. Now that he was free of the invisible bindings, he appreciated the simple act of being able to move his fingers.
Arcanist, is it? I like it.
“Mm,” he said, Apathy stretched tight over his mind. “Continue.”
“Yes,” the woman called Vireth answered. Her voice quivered slightly as she continued, “About Belgrave… What exactly do you want to know, Sir?”
“Sir… Could it be that you want to hear about the shadows gathering in the poor rings of Melton’s capital?” the blue-eyed man said. Although he had been surprised to hear Valens just now, he was quick to gather himself.
Valens tapped another finger to the throne as he thought of an answer.
I don’t know what this strange place is, but it’s clear that they see me as an Ancient being. What was the thing Captain said when we were at the Cursed Rift? The mere presence of an Ancient One is enough to choke the life out of someone… Yes. I can use that to have my way here.
But he couldn’t act as if he knew everything, either. There had to be a balance. A way for him to gather information from the group while coming off as a being fit for being an Ancient.
And how exactly will I do that?
The first thing that popped into his mind was to keep this air of mystery. None of the people in the hall tried to question his identity, which was a good sign. He could also sense through the Resonance that they feared him, or rather, what he truly represented as a concept.
If that’s it, then it is easy. As they say, sometimes silence is the best answer to any question.
He let the odd silence stretch away as he observed each member. The woman called Vireth had already begun squirming in her seat, and she seemed painfully aware of the existence of her fingers for a reason. She folded them neatly down her lap, then brought them back over the table. She then clasped her hands and cracked her knuckles one by one.
She can’t be doing it on purpose, can she? She’s the only one making a sound…
Meanwhile, Baht was still busy studying Valens. There was something strange about being stared at by a fellow heretic. Valens would’ve much preferred to have a long talk with him out in the open. Exchange a pointer or two if they had the chance. Discuss the expertise of the Sun’s Priests in the field of medicine, or the lack thereof.
Something tells me we’re walking similar paths, Baht.
“If I may…” said a voice, humming across the shrouded hall.
Valens arched an eyebrow at the speaker. It came from the blue-eyed man whose name was still unknown to him. He leaned closer to the table before fixing the other members with a stare.
“I can’t claim that I’m an expert in the matters concerning Haven’s Reach, and I’m definitely not privy to the details of the multiple cults scattered across the kingdoms, but the recent disturbance in Belgrave is something I have a few leads on,” the man muttered. “As Vireth said, I too believe those leads point to one name, and one name only. This matter is closely tied to the Veiled Mother.”
“Saah is right. This strange practice started around a month ago,” Vireth picked up from where Saah left it. “The members of the Wretched Mother’s court were never this brazen with their efforts, but it is true that they started seeking the unfortunate in Belgrave, and save for a few selected ones, they kept this a secret even from the high-ranked members of the Mother’s Cult like me.”
Another cult member. How refreshing, but do continue, miss.
“That’s indeed odd,” Baht muttered. “It has been decades since the last time I visited Belgrave, but anyone who belongs to a secret cult knows the Sun’s Church always keeps a Dawnkeeper in the Cathedral. That old Bishop… He might have his mind torn by that Trial, but with the support of the Blessed Father’s divinity, he still is a mighty force to reckon with.”
“Yes, but that’s not the strange part of it,” Vireth said. “They also planted a Wailborn in Countess Margarette’s mansion.”
Oh, she’s speaking about Selin.
Valens perked his ears at the mention of her name.
“A Wailborn?” Saah tipped his head. “What’s a mere Wailborn got to do with any of this?”
“She’s nearly managed to kill the Countess and her sons,” Vireth said. “But a team of Templars handled it before it was too late. I’ve heard a strange Healer is involved with them, and whoever he is, he was with the Templars when they brought the woman back to the capital. But that Healer isn’t the one that’s strange here. For some incomprehensible reason, Bishop Cornelius has spared the Wailborn and allowed her into the capital.”
“What?”
Everybody gasped.
Even Valens was taken aback. How could this woman possibly know any of this? They never mentioned anything about Selin to anyone, did they?
Wait… There was the lawyer. There’s also Celme and Marcus too, but I don’t think they will carry information to the Wretched Mother’s court. Interesting…
“These things,” Saah swallowed. “Could they have anything to do with the robbery?”
“If they used the disturbance caused by the cult’s movements to force an opening around the Sun’s Church’s protection of Warden’s Library, then you’d be right,” Vireth shook her head. “But the robbery happened before their sudden meddling with the poor people of Belgrave. I’m not sure if they’re related.”
“First, they plant a Wailborn in the Countess’ mansion,” Baht said gravely. “Then someone breaks into the Warden’s Library and steals Veil and Resonance. It doesn’t end there since the Veiled Mother’s court starts alluring poor people of Melton with their promises. Between the last two, however, something else.”
“You mean the Weeping Horror?” Vireth said, and she turned slowly to Valens. “And…”
Yes, my interference. You don’t have to say it out loud. Everybody got it.
“Yes, the Weeping Horror,” Baht nodded. “Someone makes a contract with a Terror, and uses an ancient ritual to summon its remnant to Haven’s Reach. Why would anyone do such a thing?”
“You can’t just manage an ancient ritual like it’s nothing,” Saah said. “The amount of mana and Authority it demands is too high of a price to pay for what seems like a pointless attempt. Even for the Veiled Mother’s court, it isn’t worth it.”
“Unless there’s something we’re missing here,” Vireth said, and pointed a finger at Baht. “Where did this summoning take place? Do you know anything about it?”
So you know about Selin and what happened in the capital between us and the Bishop, but you’re not aware of what has occurred in Brackley. Then it means… It wasn’t Marcus and Celme who gave you inside information.
Valens scowled. It seemed to him that the only likely culprits could be either the lawyer who was a member of the Duality Guild, or someone from the Sun’s Church itself.
But people saw our group entering the Cathedral. There were a lot of eyes in that crowd. So it can be anyone, is that it?
His scowl deepened as he found that the more questions he asked, the deeper he sunk into this complicated turn of events that seemed all too strange.
“I’m not sure,” Baht said. “I saw the Weeping Horror’s link, but I wasn’t in a situation to see from where that creature tried to seep into the Haven’s Reach. For all I know, it could be anywhere.”
“I’ll consult with my eyes to further investigate this matter,” Vireth sighed. “Perhaps I can find some clues if I track the course the Templars followed on their way back to the capital.”
“No need,” Valens said, his voice reverberating across the hall with strength. The table instantly quieted as all heads turned to him. He could feel the curiosity in those eyes, and the questions they bore, yet dared not ask him.
Well, a little help can go both ways as it seems, this whole thing is related to my Trial.
If there had been any doubt in his mind before, then now he was quite certain that the strange happenings around Melton Kingdom were all related to him. He didn’t know how, but it seemed he had triggered a strange chain of events the moment he was granted the Trial by the System.
We better get to the bottom of this. I don’t want thousands of people to die because of me.
Before he continued on, he drank in their reactions, and let the expectations hang in the air for some time.
There was a right way to go about with these things.
“The Remnant of the Weeping Horror was summoned in a small town called Brackley,” Valens said. “And the one who summoned it… It was Evercrest.”
And that’s the end of it. The rest is up to you.
“Evercrest…” Saah was the first one to respond as the others remained silent. “I’ve heard of that name. It’s an ancient family. Or was in the Ancient Era. But I’m afraid I don’t know much about them.”
“The same is true for me as well,” Baht nodded. “I know they were related to the Endless Mist, but as far as I’m aware, that Ancient hasn’t been seen or heard of since the Ancient Era.”
“I don’t know either,” Vireth said, voice low. “But Brackley? Now that’s strange.”
Oh?
Valens felt a pang of expectation when he saw Vireth’s face. She seemed to be in deep thought, as if trying to pull a distant memory from the depths of her mind. The others felt it too, as they all stared at her.
“What’s so strange about it?” asked a voice, belonging to the other woman who kept her silence through the conversation. She had a pair of dark brown eyes, with the shroud masking most of her features. Valens could see the waves of her blonde hair, though, fine strands of it danced lightly over her shoulders.
“Brackley… Isn’t that,” Vireth said, and hesitated as she turned to Valens, “the Mining Company owned by the Davenport family? The same company which Countess Margarette inherited after her husband’s sudden, mysterious death?”
........
Another power break... But here we are!
Comments
James Painter
Yeah, but now it looks like Baht might start following him, lol.
Jouni Osmala
He no longer can honestly say that he doesn't know Baht. The most honest thing he can say is he doesn't follow Baht, but that simple healer follows him, and then laugh.
Selvias
They seem like nice enough chaps, for now anyway.
Nattor
I love the intrigue
