The morning brought a solemn sense of solace. Schala awoke to a semi-active house, and Remilia nowhere in sight. She left her room and stepped into the hall; the voices of Ogoke and her parents traded comments while she spotted several people wheeled into one of the parlors on the first floor.
Schala, fully clothed, neared the source of the voices and stopped short of the entrance. She stood behind the door and listened in.
A parade of moans, whines, and winces of pain greeted her, and Ogoke spoke over the noise.
"I'm so sorry that it's come this far. I thank you, sister, for opening your home to the Arcana Sanction," he said. "Line them up and separate them by three paces!"
Julianna restrained a considerable amount of snark. "I'm happy to oblige, my brother. It's only for you that I do this. What's the word on my daughter?"
Ogoke sighed. He bore the voice of a man forced to give awful news. Schala understood why people would curse a messenger with a Hex Arcana.
"I won't lie to you, sister; Casella has a more precise strain of Noct Vein. It's affecting her differently since she's an Adder. She has no resistance to the disease."
Julianna's voice choked up. She grunted, and so did Marius; he must've kept her from collapsing. "How long does she have? How long until I bury my little girl?"
"The Apothecary Magi aren't certain. The disease is keeping her alive, keeping her in stasis. We've never seen such a strain; I've had to isolate her, even from the other afflicted completely. We don't know how it would affect humans."
"Oh, my goddess. Mother Earth, great provider," Julianna prayed, "Please reach your hand to bless us, for we are surely cursed."
"Master Ogoke," Marius said. "What can be done?"
"It should regale you that this conversation is no longer private," Ogoke stated.
Schala heard him snap his fingers; the door swung open, and she stumbled into the room, greeted by the slightly confused stares of the masked Magi helping the afflicted. Ogoke stood in front of her parents; Julianna's face was wrought with anguish while Marius kept her pressed against his chest.
"My niece, how may we help you this morning?"
Schala bolstered herself and opened her mouth to speak, but Ogoke turned to Julianna and Marius as she did.
"Please, allow Schala to speak uninterrupted. A rose cannot bloom if negativity obstructs its roots."
Julianna's cheeks turned beet red. Marius massaged her shoulders, and Schala clasped her hands.
"I didn't mean to intrude," Schala apologized.
"No need to ask for forgiveness, my niece."
Schala chuckled mirthlessly. "I want to help. I'm tired of sitting by while Casella suffers."
Ogoke looked her over. "All right. What do you make of the phrase you all found on the wall?"
The vision of the words etched on the wall posed a dark reminder of the state of things. It sent a sharp line of cold down her spine. Nevertheless, she thought hard, her mind racing at the possibilities.
Her parents saw Schala's eyes switching rapidly; she often did that to deduce an answer. Julianna stepped from Marius and approached Ogoke.
"Brother, Schala has had a rough time in isolation. You can't expect her to--"
"Silence, Julianna, Ogoke said curtly.
It gave Schala a sense of satisfaction to see her mother stopped short. Her so-called proficiency in putting people in their place reduced to rubble with a single utterance.
The young magi sighed. She glanced around the room; the Apothecaries held their hands over their patients and uttered Arcana spells in the ancient tongue. Their voices were akin to a choir's murmurs during a priest's sermon.
"The words were a declaration of war against Magi. Whoever wrote it gave us an enemy we couldn't fight directly. They waited until the height of our decadence and attacked like a viper."
Ogoke nodded. Schala could feel her uncle's silent agreement. He approached his niece and urged her to follow him with a hand on her shoulder.
"Marius, Julianna, you stay here and oversee the Apothecaries. Make sure they want for nothing."
"Where are you going?" Marius asked.
"Schala has her job to do, just as you do. She will be fine," Ogoke ensured.
Julianna furrowed her brow as the two left. Marius turned her head towards the Apothecaries.
Schala and Ogoke stepped into the mansion's atrium, and the Lord Regent stopped. He looked around as if sensing something. "Where is Remilia?" he asked.
"I haven't seen her this morning, uncle. I woke up, and she was gone," Schala commented.
Ogoke turned to his niece. "Go and find her. I need you both here for what is to come."
Schala nodded and left the mansion; her mind swirled with thoughts about her uncle's words. "Why does he need me?" she thought. "Remilia's the Master, not me."
She entered the garden, situated near a small lake. The water rolling over stones in the lakebed provided a soothing symphony that made her sigh sincerely. Schala smiled; she knew right where Remilia sat.
She pressed on until she reached a space hidden by shrubbery and covered from above with a natural canopy. Sunlight peeked in through a small hole in the shelter. Schala stepped closer and heard the scratching of a quill on paper.
Remilia's voice dictated her thoughts with a soft veneer of retrospection. "You asked me why I became a magi, Cas. Was it because of mom? No, it's because I wanted to do my part to help both me and Schala. You may not be a magi, Cas, but you have a wonderful gift. Your ability to weave is astonishing. While our paths aren't the same, my sister, you know you can count on big sis to support you whenever you need it. And about Schala…"
Remilia sighed. She stopped writing and paused to consider her words.
"About Schala," she continued, "now and then, I catch her staring at me. When I ask her what's wrong, she says, "I'm not sure. So much in my head, I could write a book. I just wish things could be quiet for once." Our family's a unique one; we've been through a lot, and this pandemic is just another journey of ours. Your tapestries help inspire people all around Picquery; I want you back to that loom as soon as possible. It won't be easy, but I hope you'll remain the spot of sunshine of a sister I know you are."
Remilia finally completed the letter. She rolled the parchment up and snapped her fingers, and the quill disappeared.
The shrubbery concealing her rustled, and Schala stepped through, startling her sister. She looked at the beam of sunlight shining down on Remilia from the canopy and chuckled.
"If you don't look like a fairy tale princess right now…"
Remilia went into a dramatic version of their dueling pose and said, "For the Will of Arcana, my sister," before she laughed.
Schala approached and embraced her sister. Remilia, shocked and slightly embarrassed at her sister's sudden act, returned the hug. "What's this about?" she asked.
"I heard your writing. You always think out loud," Schala responded.
"Yeah, very loud if you were able to find me," she noted.
"Did you forget who helped pick out this place? Just far enough away from the Manor so mom can't find either of us?"
Remilia chuckled and nodded. "It helped inspire the look of the Abattoir, that's for sure."
Schala eyed the parchment, and Remilia smacked the rolled paper in her palm like a small mallet. "It's a letter to Casella. I just want her to know that we're thinking about her, no matter what happens."
"I heard you say so. I came because Uncle Ogoke's looking for us," Schala informed.
Remilia's eyes widened in slight confusion. "Both of us?"
Schala narrowed her eyes and put on a mirthless smile. "Yeah, both of us. He pulled me to the side, said we'd got a job to do."
"Things must be extremely dire," Remilia commented. "All right; let's go find him."
The twins turned and saw Ogoke standing a few paces away from the space of shrubbery. He held a soft and calm smile on his face, and the twins approached in silence.
They bowed and said in unison, "For the Will of Arcana, Lord Regent."
Ogoke returned the bow and spoke the same declaration. "My girls, I won't mince words with you. These are dark times ahead of us. This disease may overtake us if something isn't done about it. Therefore, I've decided to give you a quest. If you succeed, you two will save us all."
"Isn't this something more suited for Remilia?" Schala asked. "She's the Master, not me. I don't see how I can be of any help."
"Schal, that doesn't matter--"
"Rem, I failed the exam. There's no sugarcoating it--"
Ogoke turned sharply and looked at Schala with the stern face she's used to from her father. "Schala Claymore, you are a magi of great potential, like your sister, but your resentment and dark feelings can make you lose more than your aspiration."
Schala's cheeks went as red as beets. She sighed deeply. "I'm sorry. It's still a sore spot for me."
"I know, yet I chose you both. No other masters or officials in Augurey. I chose you." Ogoke placed his hand on Schala's shoulder. Remilia stepped closer, and he repeated the action. "I chose you both. You forget who trained you, who got you started & guided you down this path, despite your mother's protests."
The twins shared a glance. In union, they said, "You did, Lord Regent."
"Needless to say, I trust you both with this quest. The fate of many will depend upon you." Ogoke sighed and assumed his calm smile. "The Apothecary sect of the Sanction hasn't made much headway in putting a stopper in the disease. The only thing ascertained is what I deduced: it affects people with wells of Ahshae within them."
"Magi," Remilia answered.
"It's targeting us. Anyone with Ahshae potential," Schala furthered after a thought.
"We've commissioned the Healing and Intelligence sects to gather as much information as possible across Augurey. We've finally hit a lead: Elysior, where the Magi there responded instantly to stem the flow."
Schala's eyes lit up at the mention of Elysior, a country of, in her opinion, enlightened scholars and magicians who pushed the limits of Ahshae studies through more artisanal applications like music and painting.
"I've always wanted to go there," Schala said softly.
"Well, you got your chance," Ogoke responded.
"We're actually going?" Remilia beamed. She remembered when Julianna took her to Renaisse, the capital of Elysior, to visit the Palette House, which held Augurey's best paintings and charcoal drawings.
Schala saw Remilia beaming, and her light fizzled. "Yeah," she thought. "You got to go, and I got left behind."
"Well, don't celebrate too much," Ogoke calmed Remilia. "You two will be acting as agents of the Sanction, and once you get to Elysior, you will seek out Aldrich, a wizard and one of the nation's best scholars."
"I take it he couldn't be bothered to share his information with the Sanction through normal channels?" Schala commented.
"In a sense. He's an eccentric sort. He once meditated for nine years straight to discover the true nature of Ahshae. He'll only trust his deepest knowledge to those who've followed his path, but we don't have that kind of time," Ogoke said.
The Lord Regent crossed his arms and sighed. "Schala, while Remilia still stands as a master magi, this will be your opportunity to change my mind. You take this mission, conquer your darkness and work with your sister, and then you have my word and my blessing."
He approached Schala, laid a hand on her shoulder, and smiled. "You will be a master."
Schala smiled. She nodded quietly and sighed. "Thank you, uncle."
Ogoke stepped back from the twins, but his soft smile remained. "I can feel your hearts, girls; you fear for your home and your sister."
The twins glanced at each other. "We do," they said in unison.
Remilia handed Ogoke the rolled parchment. "See to it that Casella gets this for us, will you, uncle?"
Ogoke snapped his fingers, and the parchment twisted itself around, disappearing in a small vortex of smoke. "Already done."
"All right, how are we getting to Elysior?" Schala inquired. Remilia nodded; she shared Schala's curiosity.
"Eager to start, aren't we?" Ogoke commented. "Well, it's good you don't want to waste any time. You'll be getting there through the Hall of Sanctions; Lord Regents and Masters utilize an Akashic point that'll provide a straight line to Elysior."
Akashic points were rare, Schala mused. Remilia told her about them years ago. They were places that were ripe with pure Ahshae energy, and that much power in one place caused renders in reality. The Arcana Sanction used Arcanacraft to create a wormhole, of sorts, to relieve the stress of traveling.
"I wonder how many people use Akashic points to travel," Remilia thought out loud.
"If too many people learn about them, we'll lose the franchise," Schala countered with a chuckle. "But in any case…"
Schala snapped her fingers, and a rucksack of belongings appeared in her grip. Remilia did the same; she slung her bag over her shoulder and let loose a soft whistle, summoning Enkidu to her free hand.
"We should get going," Schala finished.
Ogoke's smile lessened a bit. The thought of the unknown danger in store for the twins plagued his mind. "Girls…"
He paused. The twins shared another glance and approached him. They laid their heads against his cheeks while he closed his eyes.
"Marius is your father, true, but I see you as my daughters as well," Ogoke stated. "I want you to be careful."
"We'll watch each other's backs," Remilia promised.
"And when we get back, we really need to introduce you to someone. You need the pitter-patter of little feet in your palace."
Ogoke let loose a hearty chuckle. "For hearth, home, and the Will of Arcana."
In unison, the twins responded, "For hearth, home, and the Will of Arcana."
They parted ways. The twins had to walk away from their home while Apothecaries rushed in and out of their doors, more sick wheeled in. Much like in the old legends where a maiden turned to salt for looking back, the temptation to do so grew maddening.
If all goes well, everything will return to normal in due time.
The twins sighed, one after the other. Nothing remained that simple or easy.