Adrian's POV
Reluctantly, I fell asleep that night, dragged down by a fog of fatigue and anxiety. I could still hear the echoes of blood magic from my lessons with Seraphina, and the walls of the fortress seemed to close in on me every hour.
The dream was realistic enough to seem real when it first started. What came to mind originally was that Kael might be at his mind games again. I quickly discarded that thought considering that I was quite familiar with the dream nature that appeared to be actual memories of Ash.
I found myself in a gigantic room with walls carved with throbbing sigils that radiated a dark, ominous red. With blood accumulating in the creases of elaborate carvings, Ash's hands—or were they mine?—hovered over a stone altar. The murmurs began softly, like a breath in my ear, but they soon intensified and changed into words that I didn't entirely comprehend.
As the altar's surface glistened, a figure appeared—a blurry, moving shadow. Its voice, deep and evil, echoed through the chamber.
"Blackwood, do you get the cost? Does it register in your head yet?"
I felt as though a blade had been thrust into my throat.
"I get it," Ash replied the figure.
The figure laughed loudly, reverberating across the room.
And then the scene came to an end abruptly.
Gasping for air, I woke up with a start. My hands were burning, and my breath caught when I looked down. The faint glow of the sigils, which I had never seen before, gradually faded as though they were re-emerging in my skin.
"What on earth?" I sat up, muttering. The only sound in the stronghold surrounding me was the distant hum of wards imbued with mana.
I lurched out of bed, splattering cold water from the corner basin across my face. Above it, a pale, weary version of myself was reflected in the mirror. Their phantom pain persisted, but the sigils were gone.
I had to go out to look for answers now that Emberheart had decided that it was right for me to explore as I wished. I stopped to take a look around. There was just one academic at the desk at the door, a gaunt man with glasses balanced awkwardly on his nose. He didn't even look up when I walked in. The fortress library was a vast labyrinth of old books and lost wisdom. This kind of books would have been a treasure even back home and not just for their magic. I was grateful that I could read the books with no problem.
"Are you trying to find something in particular?" he said, turning a page in the massive ledger in front of him.
I remarked, leaning against the desk, "Sigils. Old ones. Even the ones that might be classified as forbidden. I am here just for research purposes of course. The sort of thing that could unexpectedly land on someone's hands. So, how do I get them?"
Hovering his quill over the page, he froze. At last, he raised his head, his eyes, albeit ageing, yet still keen.
He suggested, "That is something that is best asked from the lady Seraphina. She is better suited an a master for teaching all there is to know. Practical knowledge might be easier for you to get than the theoretical. Or could just leave things alone."
"I don't want to involve her."
"And what's causing that?"
"Because. Just because. Listen, we are wasting too much time talking."
After a long, inquisitive glance at me, the scholar sighed. "Alright, Come along with me."
He showed me the area, which was hidden in an unusually frigid part of the library. The books on the shelf were leather-bound and had fading titles.
He took a heavy book off a shelf and placed it on the closest table, saying, "Try Arcanum Sanguinis. However, don't claim I didn't warn you."
I mumbled, "Thank you," as I began to turn the pages.
Beyond anything Seraphina had said, the book was rich with illustrations and explanations of blood magic techniques. I came upon a passage that made my skin crawl towards the middle:
The Sanguine Veil, a sect of blood wizards, was exterminated from history due to their blasphemous practices. By exchanging mortal essence for forbidden power, these sigils were thought to bond their wielders to ancient beings.
As I traced the drawing on the paper, my hands tingled. That was the same insignia that had been on my palms and in my dreams. I found it odd that it coincidentally showed up here in this library.
I closed the book automatically as the library door creaked open. Lyra Shadowsong walked in, the snow from the courtyard dusting her cloak. She appeared to be as uncomfortable here as I was—sharp edges in the musty stillness of old wisdom.
Her eyes were calculating, but her tone was light as she said, "Adrian. The great Ash is here to brush up his knowledge?"
"Something along those lines."
Looking at the closed book, she sat on the edge of the table. "The Arcanum Sanguinis? Not bad. I hope you are not annoyed I am here to destroy your peace. I am just making here much more livier. "
"You came here looking for me because you have something you want to ask questions or something like that."
Lyra gave a sly smile. "A fair point." Her gloved finger tapped the table. "However, I am not here to read or make fun of you. My real reason for coming to see you is because there are certain things we need to discuss.."
Her statement was cryptic: "Kael has been busy. He wants more results. In fact, he did want me to tell you that. We can't wait to see the new you when you are done with all your studying."
"You're the messenger, too?"
"On occasion."
She kept looking at the book, and for a second I thought she may say more. Instead, she stood and brushed the snow off her cloak.
"Adrian, don't stay up too late," she advised in a tone that was almost playful. "You shouldn't sleepwalk into trouble. Time for our talk to come to an end for now."
"Thank you for the advice," I said sourly.
Her face was unreadable when she stopped at the door. "Whatever you're looking for here, you might want to keep it private. Too much interest could be shown by the wrong people. I am just looking out for you here."
She disappeared before I could reply, the library door closing behind her.
Later that evening, I went back to my room, still feeling uneasy about Lyra's appearance. Her tone had sounded strange, but I couldn't identify what exactly was the source of discomfort in her tone. I decided to let it go, lately, I have been overthinking stuff and that has not really served me well yet.
It was hard to fall asleep. My sleep was erratic and shallow when I did eventually fall asleep.
Hours later, the faint, muted sound of voices outside my door woke me. I moved in closer, putting my ear to the wood.
"...puppet in the shadows," Lyra's quiet yet clear voice uttered.
"Are you sure?" Another voice, which I didn't recognise, answered.
"As sure as I can reasonably be. Kael, however, hasn't noticed it yet. He believes he's the one with the strings. Typical."
A silence was followed by the sound of footsteps backing away.
The words were like a warning, echoing in my head. Just when I wanted to just empty my head and think more of the moment, something like this happens.
A puppet in the dark.
I found it weird that this conversation happened to have been said just outside my door. Regardless of how it didn't make any sense to me, I knew for use I wasn't making things up in my head. I was going to take the message seriously. Data is data, they say. Even if it's bad data. Besides who is to say that it's my strings being tugged?