Rashe had by then picked up the broken and bleeding Fergus and was holding him steady, “So Elder Fergus, tell me, why were you sent here?” asked Sequinnen, but Fergus remained quiet. Rashe slammed his fist into the right kidney of Fergus and the man let out a grunt of pain and spat up more blood.
“As if I’d tell you fuckers anything. Go to hell all of you! Do you honestly think I would betray a God who is far more powerful than you could ever imagine? You daft old fools! That would only ensure my demise. No, no… you won’t get anything from me!” spat Fergus,
“Well, then I guess you enjoy the void? Perhaps another visit might change your mind about things a little?” replied Sequinnen as he pointed to the swirling dark black portal.
Fergus let out a long cold laugh, “Send me back if you will, but you’re already too late. His return is inevitable, and very soon he will exact his vengeance upon you and your precious world of light! You will all be begging for mercy like the lowly dogs you are! My fate matters not! But you should worry. Ohh, indeed you should! The Revival sect has been waiting a long time for this moment!”
Rashe punched the Elder again and he coughed up more blood. The captain of the Royal Knights then widened his eyes and locked his gaze on the incapacitated Elder. Fergus froze as he and Rashe stood still.
From Cypher’s point of view, it looked much like Rashe doing nothing at all, but Sequinnen explained that he was actually breaking into the mind of the Elder. After several moments Rashe let him drop to the floor and kicked his ribs for good measure.
“Well, what did you find?” Asked Sequinnen and Rel simultaneously, but Rashe shook his head.
“All I saw were the events as Cypher described them. Although we really need to discuss the specifics of that. It seems as though everything else was walled behind some kind of mental barrier that not even I could break through. I’ll sort out my thoughts on the matter and get back to you in a few days.”
Sequinnen simply smiled and said, “See, that wasn’t so hard now was it?” Fergus groaned in pain but said nothing as the headmaster continued, “It’s truly pitiful that you have turned your back on us. But we’ve had you figured out for a while now. You aren’t as cunning as you assumed. In any event, you can tell your master that we’ll be waiting for him!”
Fergus spat at him, a look of rage and insanity burning on his face. Sequinnen simply scowled at him in return before he grabbed the collar of Fergus’s robes and threw him into Dark Void with all his might.
As he flew through the air Fergus yelled in protest and anger, but his words were silenced as he passed the veil of the portal and descended into the darkness forever. The doorway closed behind him with a loud, “BOOM” that reverberated throughout the chamber.
With that taken care of, Sequinnen turned his attention to Cypher. The moment he had been dreading since last night was here, but he swallowed and prepared himself for whatever punishment awaited him. He would not falter now, his pride would not allow it.
“Cypher, you realize what you’ve done here correct? You have committed a most serious offense by entering this forbidden room and violating a law older than all of us. Under normal circumstances, you would have been put to death or thrown into the void yourself as punishment. However, I talked it over with the king’s advisor and the Elder council as well as many others who are connected to this.
“If you had been caught in even a single lie you would have been thrown in with Fergus and that would have been the end of it. However, your story has not only checked out, but we have direct evidence to back up your claims. Instead of a criminal, you’re a hero for stopping that traitor from opening the seal. Although, because of the secrecy surrounding this room and its contents you will receive no reward except your freedom, and my thanks.”
Cypher nodded slowly, he couldn’t really ask for more than that to be quite honest. Truth be told this was probably the best outcome possible.
“Do keep in mind though that we will be keeping an eye on you. You might be innocent today but if something else comes to light that contradicts your statements we’ll find ourselves right back here and at that time you might never leave,” said Rashe with a stern look on his face, and Rel stood behind him with a smug grin as he put away his notes.
Rashe turned away from Cypher and faced Sequinnen instead, “Sequinnen, you should also know that Fergus and Itzel have been working with the Order for the last decade. They have gone completely undetected this entire time. If I were you I would do a sweep of the entire staff just to make sure there aren’t any other traitors in your midst.”
Sequinnen nodded and went to answer, but he turned to Cypher who was still standing nearby, and gave him a curious look. Cypher didn’t quite understand what he meant by that but Alvin soon came over and guided him out of the room and away from all the others.
“Don’t feel too offended Cypher,” began Alvin, “they’re just discussing matters you needn’t concern yourself with. You’re pretty much in the clear at this point. Hell, thanks to you I am as well. That’s twice now you’ve saved my ass, so thank you Cypher.”
Cypher flashed a shy smile and rubbed the back of his head, “It was nothing, I just knew that something was off about you and I had to help. It wasn’t until later that I actually realized you were possessed.”
The two shared a comfortable silence as they walked until they returned to the main floor of the castle. At that point, their conversation continued and Cypher asked, “How did you even manage to get possessed in the first place? You’re strong and I doubt that your mental defenses fell so easily.”
Alvin let out a sigh and replied, “Resisting Elder Fergus was not an easy task by any means. When he confronted me outside my office I was caught completely unaware. There is a reason Fergus and Itzel were tasked with looking into your mind back then. Obviously, you were young and your mental space was unforged, they were the only elders that could speak to you easily without killing you accidentally.
“That said, they were also the best people for the job at that time. The Academy is well funded, that much is true. However, when it comes to hiring talented Conductors in various fields it’s a bit difficult to fill certain positions. Not all Conductors are the same, nor do all Conductors train to become proficient in battle. Some practice botany, others seek only to study the world and the sciences, while others spend their days learning about Zightbeasts and their anatomy.
“Anyways, you get the idea, the point is that finding people who were good at mental examinations is difficult. Fergus and Itzel were tailor-made for such tasks and while they were also well-trained in combat, their true strength was in their mental abilities.
“Their plan was also quite genius as well. They waited till the Academy was mostly empty and then Itzel called a meeting of the Elder council. When they all gathered to meet she pulled them into a separate dimension, the Headmaster included, and made them fight for their lives. Whatever spell she used was most assuredly Retvial Magick and there was no choice but to last until the spell ended.”
Once they were all occupied, all that was left was for Fergus to break in and go about completing his task. However, he stumbled across me on his way to Sanctum. While I did almost let him pass, I sensed that something was off about his aura and that’s when I sensed Elder Itzel casting her spell. Before I could do anything Fergus had burrowed his way into my mind and broke in shortly after that.
“You know the rest, but to say that the struggle was easy would be a flat-out lie. Fergus was very skilled and I was only able to protect only my deepest secrets from his probing. He took control of my body and that was that. Things could have honestly been much worse. We have known for quite some time that someone in the Elder council, perhaps even the entire council was a traitor. We just didn’t have enough information to say who exactly.”
Cypher could understand, as he still remembered the pressure the two siblings had exuded on his mental space those years ago. It was still a shock that the two of them had been traitors and made him shudder at the thought that the two of them could have easily destroyed him back then.
In any event, what was done was done and while he still had some questions, there weren’t many answers to be found for them. For now, only two things really concerned him. The first was of course talking to Alvin and accepting his job.
The second thing was finding out everything Elaine knew about his father and mother, and in order to do that, he would have to get her alone.
