Many moments passed, and eventually Irik took his hand away and looked at Wynn. His eyes had changed she thought, and she knew he was looking at her with a newfound respect. Until now she was the powerful untutored Magus that had reached him by luck, now she was a formidable opponent, one that needed as much guidance as was possible in such a short amount of time.
“I – I...” Irik took a breath and closed his eyes, “Time is against us. Spies have informed me that Aerona’s armies are mobilising. They will march towards Terra, and once that has been invaded, Inlo will be next. Soon all the major towns will be under Aerona’s command and the chance of surviving, let alone defeating her will become too slim.”
“I understand,” Wynn said, “but first you must answer my questions.”
Irik inclined his head.
Wynn’s first inclination was to ask why the students at that had ambushed her and indeed most of the other students and professors hated her, but after hearing the news that Terra would soon be invaded it seemed so trivial. Irik however caught her feelings and smiled weakly at her.
“The students here are from high born families, it is very rare that a peasant or servant is sent here as the magic is so diluted from centuries old trysts. It is a well kept secret that high born are often magically gifted as Mages and Magus disguise themselves to avoid detection, choosing a life of nobility. For who would choose to live a beggars life when you can live comfortably and wealthily? The students here are all from high born families and are closed minded. I apologise again for their behaviour, and for the behaviour of some of the professors, although I think you proved to them not to underestimate you.”
Wynn smiled and nodded, it seemed she would always been judged for her background, she could not change it, only survive it. She moved on, “Can Aerona’s army of Fallen be stopped?”
Irik stiffened and looked at his hands, “My heart wants to tell you yes but I cannot fill you with false hope. I have never encountered them myself but knew the tales and now your memories of them. They are an abomination, who could do such a thing; rip the souls from death and force them into decaying body? It is such that they are already dead and I have not thought of a way that they could be defeated. The only way that will not stop them, but may make them serve you is the Dagger of Night.”
Wynn stiffened, “I am sorry I didn’t –”
Irik held up his hand, “It was your choice not to tell me, and at the moment I know how hard it is for you to trust anyone, I understand. What would I have done with the information anyway, had I known? With the Dagger of Night I believe you can stop them.”
Wynn nodded but her shoulders slumped, so many lives once again rested upon her and the pressure threatened to crush her. Not only did she have to Master her magic but now she had to learn how to control an ancient and dangerous weapon. She wished she could voice her concerns but she still, stubbornly, could not bring herself to confide in Irik, she felt small and sad.
Irik got up and put his hand on her shoulder, “The smallest man can make the biggest difference.”
She smiled weakly, “I hope so.”
Taien walked around the library, his head down, his hands in his pockets, mumbling incoherently. Irik sat at a table nearby watching his friend pace, his face a mask of concern. Taien was young by Mage standards, at twenty three summers old. Irik had known him for five summers, ever since he had arrived at the Seminary, desperate to teach the students. He had trained hard, and excelled at whatever task he was given and yet for as long as Irik had known him Taien’s eyes spoke of unspeakable tragedy in his past and wisdom that betrayed his young years. And though Irik would never mention it, for it was none of his business and it did not hinder Taien’s teaching, he had always wondered what had happened to age a young man beyond his years. Irik himself was over sixty summers old, but his appearance was deceptive. Mage’s and Magus lived far longer than their powerless counterparts, so old age did not creep upon them so quickly.
Irik knew now what was upsetting Taien, and was glad he had the opportunity to help his friend. Taien had not liked having to deceive Wynn by pretending to be a servant and now Wynn was furious with him.
“I am sorry for what I asked of you,” Irik said aloud once again, he had been saying it over and over for hours.
Taien waved his hand and continued to pace, “I am fine Irik, do not concern yourself, I am not important. What matters is that I have felt more of Aerona’s creatures, near our borders. They will eventually break the charms placed around the Seminary and we will have to fight.”
“What are you suggesting?” Irik asked, his voice strained.
“If Wynn dies trying to protect us then there is no hope of stopping Aerona,” Taien was now still, holding his head in his hands, “A few days ago,” he said through his hands, “did you ever think the most powerful Magus to ever have lived would appear at our door, sodden from the rain, untutored?”
Irik laughed softly at the rhetorical question, “It is strange the way Lady Fate works.”
Taien scoffed, “It is more than strange, Wynn is fragile. Did you know she had nightmares that make her scream each night? I sense a conflict inside her. She changes from foul tempered to sweet. The person that battled Aerona’s creatures was not Wynn. I fear for her sanity, I believe the magic she wields is controlling her. Can you not sense it? Something lives, grows and waits inside her.”
Irik stood up and put his hand on Taien’s shoulder, “What are you saying my friend?”
“I believe I should take her to my homeland, away from the fighting until she is ready. If she dies all is lost. It will be a long journey but I am prepared to protect her until we reach my home, there the finest tutors and Mages will help her unlock her magic and teach her how to use it. She would have been safe here, but the magic that protects us is old and dying and the attack of such a vast number of creatures will crumble it.”
Irik nodded slowly and reluctantly. He wished to argue with Taien, to keep Wynn here at Berhandril. Despite himself he had grown to care for her in a way only a childless man could. He saw her as the daughter he had so long wished for. Mages of Berhandril and Herth had ever changing temperaments and he often switched moods quickly, but what he had seen in Wynn was something very different. He did not want to admit that he had seen and felt Wynn’s mind and soul change. It was slow and had been almost undetectable but ever since Wynn had fought Aerona’s creatures three days past he had felt it every more urgently. When he and Wynn had exchanged emotions and memories, as a basis of trust, he had seen something inside her was corrupted. He could not place it exactly or say what it was, but something was taking hold. He tried to imagine it in his head and the only way he could describe it was to imagine a blank piece of parchment as Wynn’s soul. Onto that blank and pure scroll, a bottle of ink had been spilt and was slowly soaking into the parchment, creeping up until it was almost covered. He shivered at the thought.
But what was causing the change? Wynn fought with honour and was as far as he could tell a moral person. Every choice in her life was done with good intentions and she cared fiercely for her friends. It was something external, something Wynn had come into contact with, which had been magnified by the attack of creatures. He had been one of the first to try and heal her wound after the creature had injured her but he had come across such a malevolent and nauseous intent that all of his attempts were hampered. He had tasted Aerona’s distinctive metallic tang on the wound and had shook his head with sadness for no one he knew could battle with such a wound. So when he had heard Wynn herself had healed the wound, albeit aided with Taien’s strength, his admiration for the girl had increased, and now she was being corrupted, and her good and sweet nature was becoming cold and callus. They had to tread carefully, Wynn was exceptionally powerful and one false move could trigger the darkness inside her.
Taien looked squarely at Irik, “I worry for her, for her sake and for all of us,” Irik nodded and placed his hand on Taien’s shoulder once more, before departing out of the library, his heart heavy.
***
Wynn looked at her belongings which lay scattered on the bed. The Dagger of Night was still wrapped in her spare shirt, a small inconspicuous bundle. Beside it lay the small wooden rebec and next to that the outfit Wolf had given her. It had survived the attack of the creatures with nothing more than a few smudges of dirt. Wynn stroked its soft fabric lovingly; these possessions marked the different aspects of Wynn’s personality. The Dagger of Night symbolised her dark side, the one that took over when she fought. Wynn shuddered unconsciously, her fingers running over the strings of the wooden rebec. That symbolised the magic and goodness inside herself, the natural instinct to heal. Finally her Manti outfit, her wild, free side, one that was so very rarely allowed to breathe. It felt so strange to be more than just a timid maid, now she was Free she had an opportunity to explore herself. She was wild, and fierce and yet capable of extreme love.
Wynn packed away her belongings and set the pack on the ground. She would never admit it to Taien, to anyone, but she had been feeling
strange
since she fought the creatures and Aerona’s magic had infected her, four days ago now. Her heart seemed cold, and her thoughts were harder to control. She had known something was wrong but this was completely different, the thing that had been living inside her, causing her erratic moods and her thoughts to darken had been awoken and she felt completely helpless. She could not describe what it felt even if she tried; it was as though something was living inside her. She had heard stories back in Woodstone of pregnant woman who had loved being pregnant and feeling the life grow inside them. This was nothing like it, whatever was inside her disgusted her and she could not be rid of it.
Now as she sat on her bed, it was as though a voice deep inside her mind was speaking to her. She could not quite make out the words; it was as though they were said from a distance, but the intent of them was clear and it was evident the voice was criticising her and try to break her will. It was like nothing she had ever experienced; a far cry from the mental communication of magic, this was inside her and it was
evil
. She was frightened, and she felt tears streaming down her face. What was happening to her? Her violent tempers and now this growing force inside her. She found herself in a constant battle just to be herself. Wynn had never had a violent nature; she was passive and obedient. At first she had told herself she was just expressing her own nature which for so long had been repressed, but she knew she was fooling herself. Even now she deviated to her upbringing. What had she done to cause this, for it was evidently her fault, and how could she stop it?
It was a long while before Wynn could stop crying, but when she did she left her room and walked aimlessly, still pointedly avoiding any contact with the students, until she stopped outside a great door she had not entered before. It was on the second floor at the end of a long corridor and the door looked old and withered. She pushed it open slowly and found it was the library. It was far larger than the one at Woodstone, rows and rows of bookshelves snaked their way along the room, a seemingly unending maze. The shelves almost reached the ceiling and Wynn was sure a ladder would be needed to reach the highest books. The room was lit by candlelight attached to the walls in glass lanterns. There were no windows and so it seemed as though she had walked into a different time, from day to night.
She wandered around the room, spotting a table nestled into a corner every so often, they were all vacant and the room was deathly silent. It was not until she reached the very back of the room that she spotted Taien sat at a small round table, his head in his hands. He was in the shadows of the corner and in that moment he looked so completely desolate that she forgot he had tricked her and how much it had hurt and reached out to touch his hair, like a mother stroking her child’s head. But she caught herself in time and instead walked over to the table and waited until Taien sensed her presence.
“Wynn,” Taien said through his hands, acknowledging her. Wynn sat down beside him and he slowly and wearily lifted his head and looked at her. His eyes were bloodshot and his naturally tanned skin grey in the candlelight. Wynn felt her heart tug, but something deep inside scolded her for even thinking of showing such kindness and she frowned at him instead, finding things to dislike about him and forcing them to the front of her mind.
Taien winced as he felt her dislike and looked for a moment as though he would cry but instead he controlled himself and lowered his eyes. Wynn felt herself smirk at his pain and then felt disgust at herself that she was enjoying her cruelty. As Taien watched her, she felt a conflict inside herself. She wanted to forgive him and thank him for saving her, but something else was belittling her, shouting obscenities in a hope to break her.
“
You are weak
,” it hissed, the voice seemed to flow down through her so that she shivered, “
look at this man now because soon he will be dead by your hand
.”
Wynn resisted the urge to hold her head in her hands but more than any time in her life she wanted to cry. Something was hideously wrong with her, the being inside her now had a voice and it was evil. She felt like it was housed in her middle, sending tendrils up through her limbs and wrapping itself around her. Defeat suddenly washed over her, she had battled the poison given by the Hybrid creature so ferociously that she had almost died. Had it been for nothing? Would she die at the hands of this other toxin, one that had been building and amassing inside her so that now she did not know how she would ever purge it?
Wynn was suddenly aware that Taien was talking to her, and had been for some time, but she did not trust herself to speak. The voice was trying to become more solid, and gain more control and Wynn was still too exhausted to fight it. It sent its vile claws through her, to her brain.
“
That’s right, you cannot win, surrender now and the pain will stop
.”
Wynn wanted the pain to stop; she did not want to cry any more and shoulder the guilt of being the Foreseen. It would be as easy as breathing to surrender to the being, and slowly it happened. Happened before Wynn had ever really decided what to do about it, the being grew so that it filled every part of her and took its hold of her brain. The presence opened her mouth and forced her to ask, in her most soft and innocent voice, “Taien, will you help me read a book I was given?”
Taien’s eyes widened slightly but he nodded and watched as Wynn grinned somewhat impishly and quickly left the library to fetch it. She was back quickly clutching a large black book. She slammed it onto the table and Taien pulled it closer to him and read the title, it said in the delicate gold leaf, “Necromancy”.
Taien started a little, knowing instantly that his was a book of dark magic. He looked at Wynn, trying to judge if she knew what the book contained. He knew that she could not read it and was genuine in that, but the way her eyes sparkled was disconcerting. He tried to feel her emotions but now all he could sense was excitement. Reluctantly he opened the book and read out the first line of the book.
“Necromancy is a dark art form of calling the spirits of the dead to one’s own body or to a chosen willing, or unwilling body to act as a vessel.”
Wynn’s face smiled but inside she was screaming. The presence which had tormented her had finally taken over and trapped her inside herself. It was speaking with her voice and moving her limbs pushing her conscious and thoughts into a dark void inside herself. Wynn was trapped and fighting desperately. How could Taien not
know
? This was not her, these were not her words, her actions, she was inside herself, a prisoner in her own body. But Taien did not realise and all she could do was watch with horror as Taien read out the text which for so long had been unreachable and unreadable and she learned the ways of the Necromancer.