Chapter 5-4: The Moon Sigil

"Thank you, Lord Condor." Principal Auria bowed before shutting the door. She didn't seem very happy.

"Thanks for waiting here Aiden." Uncle Nathan said with a smile. "It took a bit longer than expected."

Aiden shrugged. He'd been waiting for about half an hour. It wasn't a very long time. If anything, he was surprised they were done so quickly. "It's fine. I don't have much to do anyways. You can't tell me what that was about, can you?"

His Uncle showed him a bitter smile. "No. But… You might find out soon anyways." He hesitated. "How's your life, Aiden? Are you enjoying it here?" He asked as they slowly started walking towards the dorms. It was almost dusk; Aiden didn't have much time left.

"Yeah, it's fun." He smiled. He really was happy to have come here. "I already told you about it in my letters though."

"Yes, but you never give any names!" His Uncle grinned. "How can I know who your friends are if you don't tell me?"

"That's because I don't want you to start checking their backgrounds." He suddenly stopped in his tracks. Could he use his uncle to get information on Ren? He was sure his uncle would happily comply but… It felt like he'd be betraying the young man's trust.

"What is it? Are you going to tell me who they are?"

"Nothing. Stop being overprotective." He brushed past his uncle and headed towards the dorms. "Come on, I don't have much time left."

With dropped shoulders, his uncle followed. As they approached the woods near the northern courtyard, Uncle Nathan suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Now for the real reason I came here;" He pulled out a small, silver, round object from his pocket. "Show the path to the contracted blood."

Aiden flinched as his Uncle flipped the object around. It was a compass, but it didn't look like any he had seen before. Instead of having a needle, it had some red fluid under the glass cover. "Is that…?"

"Blood? Yes." Uncle Nathan sighed. "It's not a pleasant thing, I know." He watched the compass as the blood whirled around without showing a clear direction. "There are much simpler ways to track someone. I don't fully understand why the Council decided to go with this."

"Does that mean you're on a manhunt?" Aiden asked as he watched the whirling blood. "It's almost mesmerising." He mumbled. It had a weird, almost beautiful rhythm to its flow.

"His blood tends to do that…" His uncle mumbled. He then snapped out of it and with a more serious tone, explained. "No, not a manhunt. I'm only using this because it's what the Council wants. They love complicating my job."

"Who's he?" Aiden asked worryingly. He thought his uncle's work had nothing to do with the disappearance. Why was he searching for someone now?

"He's-" He stopped as the blood in the compass finally stopped whirling around and formed a thin, needle-like shape. It was pointing north, towards the courtyard. "Let's go." He followed the needle with long, fast steps.

"Who is it?" Aiden shouted as he hurried after him. "Uncle?"

They stopped just before the treeline ended. The tree trunks and bushes were still blocking the view. His uncle turned towards him with a bitter smile. "Aiden, I…" He hesitated. "Never mind. Be silent until the formalities are done." He brushed his hair back, fixed his cloak and with a sigh, stepped out of the woods. Aiden hurried behind him.

As soon as they stepped into the courtyard, Aiden stopped dead in his tracks. A short figure stood at the centre of the courtyard. The hood of their cloak hid their face, yet as his uncle approached, the figure slowly turned around. As they did, they let the cloak fall off. Ren's slender figure kneeled before his uncle.

* * *

Kneeling on the ground before the middle-aged man, Ren took quick, shallow breaths. His heart was beating as if he had just run halfway across Arkon.

The man before him was tall, Ren could only just barely reach his shoulder. With his short black hair and dark blue eyes, he did remind him of Aiden. Ren clenched the hilt of his tachi. How had he missed the resemblance?

He was wearing the dark blue and grey uniform of the Council's enforcers, though it was mostly hidden from view by his white cloak.

"You may rise." His cold, calm voice sent shivers down Ren's spine. He slowly rose, trying not to break formality. His right hand remained on his heart while he loosened his grip on the hilt of his blade if only a little. His gaze remained fixed on the ground.

The enforcer stood silently for a moment, before finally talking again. "With the authority granted to me by the High Council, I call upon the blessing of the moon." He gave Ren a palm sized, silver coin. "You know what must be done. Do not be late."

Ren nodded and bowed before putting the coin in his pocket. "Of course." He silently spoke. He hid his trembling hands under the many layers of cloth of his ceremonial robes.

"Now that that's done, there's one more thing to take care of." Lord Condor said with a weird expression. Was that anger in his eyes?

"What's going on?" A weak voice called out. Ren flinched. He hadn't noticed that someone else was here. He was too focused on the Enforcer. He glanced behind Lord Condor, only to see Aiden standing there.

Ren's heart skipped a beat. Anger and hate welled up inside him. With burning eyes, he glared at Lord Condor. "Why is he here?" He shouted, clenching his fists. Why would he bring his nephew here? All of this was classified – not even most people in the inner keep knew about it.

"I guessed you were the person he kept writing about in his letters." Lord Condor showed a bitter smile. As Aiden approached them, he continued with his words. "He never wrote your name, but his descriptions were plenty enough."

"That's not what I asked!" He shouted. "And this is not what I was promised!" As he was about to continue, Aiden interrupted him with a shout.

"What is the meaning of this?" He glared at both Ren and Lord Condor. "Uncle, what does Ren have anything to do with The Council?" As he spoke, he released his mana. It weaved itself around him, like a protective cocoon. He wasn't feeling safe right now. He was ready to defend himself.

Ren's nails dug into his palm. What he feared the most since he came to the academy had happened, and by no fault of his own. Someone who cared about him – a friend – had found out about his involvement with the Council.

"Answer me!" Aiden grabbed Ren by the collar of his ceremonial robes. "Who are you?"

Lord Condor reached out to try and stop the young noble, but he pushed his Uncle's hand aside. Looking at Ren dead in the eye, he asked again with a sharp voice. "Who are you?"

Each word that left Aiden's lips felt as if a knife was burrowing deeper and deeper into his chest. He wanted to answer and explain but he couldn't. "I'm sorry." It was all he could do.

"You can explain." Lord Condor suddenly spoke. "He was given the same level of clearance as your instructors." He sighed. "But before you do. Aiden, please don't blame him for not telling you any of this before. If he did, your life would be forfeit."

"What?" Both Ren and Aiden asked at the same time. Aiden's voice was filled with shock as he let go of his collar. Ren's voice was filled with wrath. He could feel it well up inside him.

"Why does he have clearance?" Ren asked as he motioned to grab Lord Condor's arm. His hand was blocked by a rush of mana which created a shield around the enforcer. Ren stepped back, with no less anger in his eyes. "Why are you getting him involved in this?" He shouted.

"I didn't get him involved!" Lord Condor's mana erupted outwards, sending Ren flying. Aiden shouted something, but the young man couldn't quite make out the words. As he hit the ground several meters away, Lord Condor approached with his mana roaring like storm clouds. "You knew you had to keep a secret and you failed, Ren. You were the one to cast the sealing spell! You were the one who nearly killed my nephew!"

"Uncle, wait!" Aiden shouted again.

"You dare blame me, after knowing what you were getting him into?" Lord Condor's mana lashed out, hitting Ren's torso. The mark on his chest ached, as if it were reacting to the enforcer's mana. "You dare resent me, when you and you alone are to blame?" His mana reeled back like a whip, preparing to strike again.

"Uncle, stop!" Aiden rushed to the enforcer, grabbing his arm in an attempt to stop him. "You'll kill him – stop!" He was promptly pushed aside. "Stay out of this." Lord Condor said with an emotionless voice.

Aiden's mana extended forward in an attempt to shield Ren from the enforcer's next hit. "Why are you just sitting there?" The young noble shouted. "Get up. You'll die if you get hit by that!"

His chest ached. He felt something warm and sticky on his clothes. Aiden's voice sounded like it was coming from so far away. His surroundings were blurry – except for the crystal-clear sight of Lord Condor and the mana around him. Time seemed to slow down as the enforcer's mana lashed forward. He saw Aiden's barrier shatter into pieces.

At the corner of his vision, Aiden staggered. His mana must have been depleted by that barrier. That he could still stand was surprising on its own. His eyes focused at the enforcer's mana. It had almost reached him. He could already feel the heat that radiated from it. Aiden shouted something – Ren couldn't hear him.

He felt something break inside. Mere moments before the enforcer struck him, his mana erupted.

"Enough."

Something exploded.