Chapter 18: Aretuza
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Before they reached a destination, Geralt approached Eskel and August, that talked about something. He stood a few meters away from them and waited until they finish.
First, one to put attention to Geralt was Eskel. He inquired, "What do you need, Geralt?"
Geralt took a deep breath, looking directly into Eskel eyes "You were right" he stopped for a second and looked at August. "And you were too"
"Huh" Eskel rose his eyebrows. He knew exactly what Geralt talked about, but he wanted to hear these words from Geralt. "Right about what?"
August lightly slapped Eskel's nape of the neck. "Eskel, don't create drama out of nowhere. You know what he is talking about."
Geralt looked with wide eyes toward August. He was the last person he expected words of support coming from. "Thanks, August"
August waved his hand, dispelling all the things about this matter.
Eskel rubbed the nape of his neck and looked towards August with slight frustration, he slightly pouted, "You didn't have to slap me", his eyes turned back at Geralt "Go ahead Geralt"
Geralt showed a small smile that didn't go unnoticed by his friends. "Guys, sorry for being careless. You were right when you tried to put my mind on track and dispel my delusional dreams. I didn't wish for such an outcome."
Eskel slightly teased Geralt, "So our Geralt is finally back. Where is your serious stone face?"
Like always, August and Geralt both looked at Eskel with stone faces, totally ignoring his previous words.
"Tsk," Eskel clicked his tongue before frowning "Guys, you are annoying"
They walked in the Academy's direction. The structure in front of them looked magnificent. It stood on the island, close to the continent. One path connected the two; a long bridge, made of white stone with long and beautiful arcs supporting the overall structure.
Aretuza was surrounded by high walls that made it look like a veritable fortress, rather than a school. It was something on another level compared to where they lived. It felt much more significant here, much more valuable.
Vesemir and a group of boys approached Aretuza's entrance facing enormous iron gates with a guard staying on guard.
Vesemir went ahead to the guard.
Guard inquired, "Goal of your presence?"
Vesemir replied, "Visit an old friend of mine"
"To whom?" continued Guard
Vesemir shortly replied "Radmir"
The guard nodded his head, letting all of them pass through. Either way, he knew who was the man in front of him. Vesemir: Lord of Sword.
He was a famous man. Most people knew little about him, but during his youth, Vesemir worked as a Witcher, everyone knew about him for his skills with a Sword, not a single knight could take him down. His sword mastery was superior to everyone.
They walked inside, facing an enormous garden, with some people walking around, talking and performing magic.
Most of the people that are present here are girls since Aretuza is a girls' academy. But at the moment, sorcerers had little to no place to hold their meetings.
During the Falka rebellion, a place that could be a sole definition of what a city of sorcerers could mean burned to the ground until nothing was left. They burned the knowledge, turning it into ash.
Mirthe - city of sorcerers, the city where a vast amount of knowledge came from. A city that turned into a graveyard, not only for knowledge, but for a lot of great mages that tried to save their home, but failed and burned along.
Boys walked through a lot of corridors with a lot of doors, going in the direction which Vesemir choose. After a few minutes, they arrived on the stone platform.
Before either of the boys could ask a questing, the platform flew.
That got a lot of them astonished. Never in their life had they thought of such magic, considering it is their first encounter with such that doesn't look like signs.
Stone platform arrived at the highest floor of the academy where all the famous and powerful mages reside.
They walked down the hall towards a big room where a big round table stood, it had a lot of fancy chairs around with a lot of curves. Everything in this place screamed luxury.
One woman sat there, writing something down. She lifted her head and looked in the direction of the Vesemir before looking behind his back spotting a small crowd of small witchers.
Her face showed an awful grimace, she stood and corrected her posture, everything about her screamed of nobility. Her posture, her accurate look and her precisely done hair. Every step she took was done with grace.
She stood right before Vesemir, showing a small frown. "You Witchers, never take care of the odour that you carry along yourself."
Vesemir looked unmoved and replied, "It's good to see you too Tissaia de Vries, mind telling me where Radmir is?"
She turned around and walked back to her seat "He is in the room for personal research down the corridor that way" she pointed her finger toward one corridor, and once again even her hand gestures were elegant with little to no sharpness, she moved like flowing water.
Vesemir nodded his head and turned towards the boys, who were clueless about what to do.
His eyes once again went toward Tissaia. He inquired, "Do you mind them walking around while I deal with my things"
She replied with a slight snort, "Suit yourself, but don't disturb my students"
August, on the other side, didn't like all the things around, it felt so wrong. It looked like behind those beautiful walls and behind that noble behaviour and pomposity, there is a rotten part to it.
There is this awful part that is being shielded with all of those blinking lights that would blind most of the people that see it for the first time.
For August, from his perspective, everything seemed fishy, one thing he understood over his brief life. You can't trust your first impression. All the things in here gave him a feeling that every action he takes will be observed and used against him.
He kept his guard up, so as not to lose himself in the facade in front of him that had the sole purpose of alluring.
Vesemir went to the hall, while August stayed close to Tissaia. She looked different. She felt much more arrogant, but at the same time, she didn't hide her genuine emotions. It was her life, and she didn't play a role like most.
August stayed silent and observed the surrounding, trying to find anything he could do, but the person who entered the room interrupted his act.
A tall man, that stood at 180, with long black hair, and piercing eyes that promised nothing good. Noble attire with a lot of decorations to show superiority in every way possible. Arrogant expression demonstrated this person is full of himself.
Tissaia looked in the man's direction with almost unnoticed disgust greeting him "Greeting Vilgefortz, what brings you here?"
He widely smiled, changing his behaviour almost instantly, to being modest and polite, he replied "It is a pleasure to see you feeling well Tissaia"
He looked towards August and inquired, "And who, might I ask do we have here?"
August looked directly into Vilgefortz eyes, with his blood-red, cat-like pupil. Everything about this man screamed of danger. August's senses were going into overdrive with the single idea of running on sight from this man.
But he could not afford to show even a single bit of weakness. He knew that at the same second when his willpower gives up. This snake will crawl under your skin and eat you alive if deemed necessary.
Vilgefortz chuckled and turned towards Tissaia "He is an interesting lad"
August relaxed when he saw that this man turned around, but who knew that this move was the wrong one?
Sensing something odd, Vilgefortz turned around in an instant, catching August valuable.
He arrived close to August, barely leaving a space between them. He ran his hand across August's face before his eyes went wide, showing surprise.
With a wide smile on his face, he turned and looked at Tissaia informing "Oh, this little boy is not as regular as he appears! He has a connection with magic"
Giving no time for Tissaia to react, he placed his palm on August's head, giving him no chance to escape, and did something that made August fall to the ground like a lifeless doll.
[August PoV]
As soon as the palm of this snake touched my head, I felt the same thing that I had almost forgotten about.
Vision
The difference this time was one, I didn't feel agonizing pain washing all over my body.
I lost all senses of my body, which brought unwanted emotions. I felt myself not in control of my own life, like leaving my life in someone else hands. And I hate this feeling.
But at the same time, I did not know how to get it back before the vision ends.
Before me, I saw a lot of elves, dressed in fancy attires, with long ears and aura around them. It felt so strong that I could not compare it to anything I had ever felt before.
I tried to figure out what the vision showed me, but they spoke in an unknown language I did not have knowledge of. But one thing I knew for sure, they were chanting something, something that won't end well.
Elves chanting "Im nall- upon rod plural rodyn -o gúl, na break i laws -o nature. Im nall- upon i rod plural rodyn -o gúlna ech- a lond an mín kind. Lond na a siniath ambar i will bui- ammen sui asylum. Near where mín kind will bloom a flourish, no i guidance -o chaos."
(I call upon the power of magic, to break the laws of nature. I call upon the power of magic to make a path for our kind. Path to a new world that will serve us as an asylum. Place where our kind will bloom and flourish under the guidance of chaos )
The scene changed, throwing me into a black vortex. After a second I saw a myriad of colours all around, mixing and creating beautiful scenery. Sealine that goes into the distance, the sun that slowly hides away under the sea, reflecting a lot of light and resulting in a breathtaking sunset.
But I didn't have time to enjoy it, it threw me into dark forests where a lot of big and small vortexes formed.
From those monsters walked through.
Different sizes and looks. There I saw bloodthirsty vampires with eyes full of anger.
There I saw gigantic dragons that elevate their huge wings up in the sky, blocking off, the little sun that could pass through the forest. Their eyes showed intelligence. They were nothing like angry beasts.
Down on the ground, a sea of different beasts and monsters walked inside through the vortex.
Their eyes, their behaviour and their emotions were promising nothing good. There was limitless hunger and anger in them that can't be satisfied even in a hundred years. Their only wish and goal in life was violence, thirst for killing someone, destroying and leaving nothing behind but bones.
Creatures of different origins that I read about and those that I witnessed for the first and last time in my life since their tracks and their history were already lost in the sands of time.
I saw how fields and forests were flooded with such an enormous variety of monsters, with such huge numbers that could end our world in hours
Every new monster I witness made me scared. There were hundreds of them and all I could feel is their limitless bloodthirst.
[Pov End]
August witnessed the beginning. The start of all is the conjunction of spheres. When the Elven race of Aen Seidhe and Aen Elle proceed with a spell that goes against natural laws. They thought they were invincible; they travelled to different worlds, conquering them, taking resources out of them and then abandoning them to die.
They thought that their conquest will never end, but there is always something that doesn't go the right way. Their spell worked, but not the way they wanted it to.
With their spell, they broke the order of the entire multiverse, resulting in the conjunction of spheres. When worlds of different planes merged, flooding exclusive creatures from different worlds into one.
That's how it started. That's when the point of no return was reached.
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