In the following days, the training started. The first time we met, Zeylan, Dreis, and Sharin came to our table. We agreed that early in the morning in the Belencia agora, my friends and I would train together with the other dream keepers. I remember the conversation I had with my friends minutes before bed and how worried they were about what I was going to do. For a moment I felt overwhelmed by the weight on my shoulders, but if this is the way all this madness will stop, I will fearlessly go face the test of the Vigilares.
"Then it's today," I said to Captain Levi.
"It's better not to waste time; the next nothofagus hunt will be in district 15," answered Zeylan.
I nodded and took my things; Anetta and Remina did the same.
"Okay, and why will it be in that place?" "That's the abandoned batching plant."
Hearing about the place made me curious. Not more than 5 months ago, we went there to take pictures for our audiovisual production class.
"I was there, and everything points out that it's the place where Arach'nogurat frequents."
"The girls and I went there a few months ago; why would he choose such a place?" I was intrigued.
"Possibly so as not to arouse suspicions about the disappearances of people in that district," Sharin interjected.
"We'd better check it out as soon as possible." Commented Zeylan.
"Then let's not waste time; where shall we go?" Mina asked curiously.
"Bryce Manor, the house of Erick's ancestors," the Encantris answered.
"That's near the historical part; I remember it was rebuilt in 1880 by Marcus Jonas, who also built the Elizabeth Bryce Library," Anetta added in an almost encyclopedic tone.
"I see that those hours reading the historical records of the city have paid off; you sound like a real anthropologist, Netta."
I complimented my friend.
We left the cafeteria, exiting through the red roof with white columns, which led to the parking lot. Sharin approached his partner, giving her a tender kiss as a greeting, and then fist bumping with Zeylan and Dreis; giving a warm smile to Anetta and Remina, the girls responded in the same way. After verifying that no one was following us, we divided into two groups for each vehicle in which we will go to the mansion, as always the three girlfriends in Remina's spark, accompanied by Dreis, who seemed to be delighted with the idea of going with Anetta; I hadn't noticed but my friend gave the impression that she felt comfortable talking with him; Mina and I gave each other that look of "It seems that something is happening here." The orange sunset was visible on the tops of the buildings in the city center, starting to shrink in size as soon as we reached the historic area. Old, three-story buildings with old facades dominated the cityscape.
As we crossed the Aspiro River bridge, seeing that its waters were similar to the golden yellow color similar to this day's sunset and possibly the many crocus flowers growing on its banks, we followed the route guided by Erick's sports car. We arrived at the guardian's family property by crossing the old gate that was opened by some electronic device; upon reaching the fountain with the statue of a lady dressed in an ancient costume, possibly from the eighteenth century, a group of people began to leave from the porch of the mansion, among them Kyara, followed by a couple of girls, and three more people, who greeted us from afar.
"Well, here we are, friends," Remina commented, turning off the car's engine.
"It's really a beautiful place—the garden, the facade, I never thought that such splendid places existed in Belencia," I said as I gave her a tour of the mansion.
My girlfriends were also amazed at how wonderful the Bryce property was.
"I hope you girls are ready for some accelerated training to become dream keepers," Kyara commented, greeting each of them.
Zeylan took a step in front of us, and I could not deny that seeing him in that leadership role inspired me confidence; in a way, I knew it was his way of not showing weakness in difficult times. I approached the guardian, and by inertia I gave a little tap on his shoulder. The boy's reaction is like that of a person who remembers his happiest moment. That gesture and the way the eyes of both looked at each other in an emotional and familiar way felt so natural between us that I could feel the puzzled looks of those who were there.
"Well, Sharin will train with you," he said, trying to look away from my eyes. "The animus of your dreamcatcher allows you to summon the creatures of the dreamlands; this, in a way, is very similar to magic, and I don't think there is a more qualified person to explain it than an Encantris."
Explained Zeylan, as Sharin approached them both, the redhead nodded as her fiance put his arm around her shoulder.
"And my girlfriends, will they come with me?" I asked.
"They don't like you; they need to discover their animus, so Kyara and Veria will help them with it."
"I understand. I hope you girls make it and don't be afraid to take your abilities further, okay?" I said to the Maverak cousins.
"Count on that mana; we won't let you down," Remina commented.
"The more I know about these powers, the more I want to know them."
Veria Kusakova approached Remina, and both girls shook hands; unlike me, Mina was not impressed by the flirtatious aura that the blue witch inspired.
After chatting a bit about what each one would do to start the practices with our respective tutors, in a way I felt like a child who barely knows the superficial of her closest reality. I had no idea about magic, how to use an incantation, what animus was, much less how to do a summoning without resorting to the supplication of whoever is watching me in my being. We parted in different directions from Bryce Manor, crossing through a hallway with large windows that overlooked a wide meadow with maze-like bushes. The redhead stopped her walk suddenly, pulling me out of my musings to avoid colliding with her, turning her eyes towards me with that serene countenance that characterized her.
"You must take yourself seriously, Mera." "There is a lot at stake in this challenge that the Vigilares have imposed on you, so I ask you to try to learn as much as you can."
She said looking at me with that inquisitive look, Sharin could seem someone distant and irascible, but when it came to her duty as a guardian, her personality was completely that of a person who has gone through many hardships.
"Listen carefully, Mera," proclaimed the redhead. "In the beginning there was matter—inert, incapable of molding itself because it lacked spirit. When the first words were formulated, the verb was born, and when it was exclaimed for the first time, matter obeyed it, transmuting into new forms. Only through the verb and the spirit of the one who proclaims it can matter react physically or spiritually; it does not entirely obey the physical laws of nature; it only reacts to the will of the verb. This is what we call magic. The encantris were the first to discover this principle; we realized that not only the expressed verb molds matter but also the spinning of thoughts into an accumulation of actions, creating in turn stronger projections of matter in the physical world.
"So anyone can use magic?" I was intrigued.
"Not anyone. "Magic requires transforming the actions of the verb and thought into projections of the will; creativity is needed to mold matter into new forms on the physical world; the more common an expression of the verb becomes, the less will is imprinted on it; that's why when languages evolved, humans forgot these old formulas of the verb."
"Well, I understand that these principles can lead to convocations, right?," I continued with the questions.
"It is; that's where animus and thought correlate, giving the key to the world of dreams that dreamcatchers allow to enter."
Sharin took a few steps in front of me, sitting me on the floor and placing her hands on my knees.
"At this point, I need you to commune with your thoughts, to join that projection of your thought in the world of ideas."
"How—" Sharin's sound of silence prevented me from continuing.
I concentrated on the phrases of the encantris and began to investigate in my mind, feeling how I went from total darkness to the golden tone of a threshold where I passed, seeing in the distance the golden field, and many creatures of different appearances but with the simile of having the same golden color. My sight remained on that enormous human figure. I recognized him at once; it was the appearance of Roshakka, who seemed to whistle, and the golden beasts obeyed him as if they recognized him as their master.
"So you found the entrance, my little ojibwa," he said in a serene voice.
"I want to learn how to use my ability to summon you," I said without hesitation.
"A summoning is not possible if the being you wish to take to the land of the sleeping does not wish it," Roshakka answered.
"Then why did you...?" My words were cut off as I saw this man stand up, showing his masculine appearance.
"I heard your voice once, and it reminded me of something I had forgotten millions of human lifetimes ago—the desire to fight," the demon answered.
"So you joined the projection of my thoughts to find a way to intervene in the world of the sleepers?" I asked him as he bent down to lift me up in the palm of his hand, his golden irises fixed on me.
"No, my little weaver of thoughts, I am your animus." "You alone have power over my powers!" exclaimed the shepherd of the golden fields.
I felt a current run down my back until it reached my right hand. I opened my eyes immediately at that sensation, feeling a tingling in my side. I looked at that part of my body and my forearm, and I could see in surprise how a golden bracelet covered from the tip of my fingers to the lower part of my arm, shining in an intense golden color.
"Now that you have it clearer, you have manifested your animus; let's see if you can manipulate it properly," said the encantris, raising her hands.
She knew those movements were one of her incantations.
"BLED ADRSHY!" she exclaimed in a resonant voice.
"Psyche!" I responded immediately.
I watched as luminescent projectiles were launched from Sharin's body toward me. Immediately, a shield of golden butterflies stopped the impacts before they could touch me. I could see a smile of approval on the encantris, as if he expected such a reaction, and without giving me time, he hurriedly moved his hands.
"KIARTS LARTKEPS!" She exclaimed again in a resonant voice.
Strong blows began to resonate in my butterfly shield, feeling how they dented my protection. I thought of a way to counterattack and remembered the way encantris magic worked; now I understood why Erick was his partner in combat. I raised my arm with a movement as if I wanted to cut the air in a transverse way, extending my arm.
"Lykos!" I exclaimed, feeling how my body felt heavy and my strength was diminishing.
I saw how several wolves materialized going against the encantris, and when the redhead could react, letting her attack spell disappear, she did another counter spell to avoid being hurt.
"BADHAANA!" She quickly proclaimed, and the golden lycans vanished as they impacted on her, making her shuffle her feet against the large door of the hall.
We both felt exhausted, as if all our strength had gone into that display of magic. With that being how the black witch fell against the power of the encantris and Veria, it was a conspired plan for the witch to wear down the power of her animus. After catching my breath, something on the floor caught my eye, and as I bent down to pick it up, I realized it was a locket with the engraving of what I suspected were runic symbols. I opened it and could see a picture of a woman older than us holding a little red-haired girl in her arms. As soon as I saw it, Sharin snatched it from my hands, and for a moment I did not know how to react, only when his gaze was fixed on the image inside that jewel hanging from the chain.
"Who are these people?" Are you-," My words were cut off by Sharin's shout.
"Don't say it!" She shouted with tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know."
I said sorry, and seconds later the door opened, and Erick and Zeylan came in, being more than surprised by the scene of Sharin breaking down in front of us, hugging her boyfriend, who put his hand on her head and kissed her forehead.
"I think that's enough training for today, Mera; when Sharin recovers, we can resume," said Erick, taking his partner to another place.
"Don't worry about it, Mera; it's something from his past; it's not something you were aware of."
Zeylan told me that when the couple left, I felt so bad for her that I wanted to go find him to apologize to her.
"I am going to apologize to her."
I left the captain of the guardians in that room and walked to where I suspected Sharin and Erick had gone. As I was about to cross to another hallway of the mansion, I stopped immediately. The couple was kissing passionately, the redhead was being carried by her boy while he was putting his hands under her black dress, bringing his mouth to her neck, and kissing her with desire. I could hear a moan of pleasure in the encantris as she desperately removed her boyfriend's shirt, "Are they going to do it right here?" I wondered as I watched the way the girl started to undress her man. I questioned if I should keep watching them, but my eyes went back to see the couple surrendering to the pleasure of being caressed by each other. It had been more than a year since sex had been on my mind, even more if I remembered how asshole Max was in the relationship we had, but seeing what this couple was doing made me yearn again for the caresses and the pleasure of feeling the touch on your skin. I squeezed my legs together and closed my eyes, imagining a hypothetical scene with an imaginary lover. Maybe if I imagined Reilus from the Outlanders novel, it would calm these intense desires to be penetrated.
I lowered my hand under my skirt and felt the wetness under my thighs. "Was I liking the idea of seeing the couple in that intimate moment?" "Or was it just my body crying out for no intimacy with anyone?" I closed my eyes again, going back to Reilus and his caresses on my thighs, but all that vanished as I saw Zeylan's face sinking into my crotch, and my mind went into denial as I felt a pleasure much more intense than that of my literary lover. I wanted to die at that moment from the shame of fantasizing about someone I knew, but I was so close to having an orgasm at that moment that I didn't know whether to stop, not moan loudly, or to let myself go. When I was about to send everything to hell for that instant of pleasure, strong arms took me to a firm chest, and without giving me time to confirm who I was, I gave in to the urge to come.