Alvin came to his room the following morning. The atmosphere was tense, and Cypher could still feel the weight of the accident pressing on his weary mind. He had spent the better part of the night tossing and turning in his bed, unable to get a deep sleep. But when he awoke, he found that he was less tired than he had expected.
He also found that he was hungrier than he had been since he had arrived at the academy. After a hearty breakfast that left him feeling satisfied he had showered, dressed in the black formal robes of the academy, and departed with Alvin towards the meeting chamber of the Elders.
On the way, Alvin had once again explained the details he had been too distracted to comprehend the night before, and now that he was actually paying attention, he found the whole ordeal to be quite unsettling.
He had just managed to begin the construction of his Athenaeum and the possibility of it being destroyed along with his mind worried him. He was, however, resolved not to fight off the inspections of the Elders no matter what. Elder Fergus had been the only one he had encountered so far and the presence of that man was powerful all on his own. He could scarcely imagine what meeting all of them at once would be like.
If he was to endure their searching, he would have to remain relaxed and loose. His mind, however, was wound tightly despite its weariness. As he inspected his Athenaeum, he found the door that led inside difficult to open, and the lantern flickering as a constant stream of mental energy was expended to repair the damage to the walls.
The small cracks from the snapback of his mental energy the other day had healed a considerable amount, but slight damage still remained. Perhaps that was part of why he found himself yawning as he stood before a set of large iron-bound doors.
“Now, remember to be respectful when the elders speak to you. I had to work extra hard to convince them to show leniency towards you. This event is strange to say the very least, never has a first-year student shown as much potential as you have in the short time you’ve been training.
“However, potential or not, you almost killed a fellow student. There are many protocols in place for such events and this particular oddity of yours was the deciding factor. Now, I cannot join you beyond these doors. When they open it will be up to you to handle things. I trust that you can get through this unscathed and with your mind intact.”
Alvin had tried his best to reassure Cypher, but all he could feel was nervousness. With Alex currently being treated in the healer’s ward, he had nothing to worry about in that regard. His current mental state had more to do with the fear of having his mind broken.
After all, he still had to apologize if nothing else.
“Alvin, do you really think this will help? What if they look through my mind and find something they don’t like?” asked Cypher, his fingers moving to his mouth as he anxiously bit at his fingernails.
“They are simply trying to understand what happened. If you were in any danger of being purposefully killed or even expelled from the academy we would already know. Your spell is a curious one. We have a copy of that book here with us, but nothing about what it contains mentions anything about a way to bypass the restrictions nature has placed upon us.”
Alvin paused and looked troubled, almost as if he was holding something back. He stroked the tip of his beard and then placed a hand on Cypher’s shoulder, nodding to himself as if deciding on something.
“In truth, I can think of only one other instance where something of a similar nature has happened and they-” Alvin was cut off as the doors swung open and one of the butlers motioned for Cypher to come inside. He quickly shot Alvin a worried glance but the man simply nodded his head and gave him a gentle smile.
As the doors creaked shut behind him, Cypher began to look around the room. It was wide and contained many rows of ascending seats. In front of him stood a large oval table, and behind it sat the six Elders of the Guardian Hall Academy. The man and woman in the middle stood to greet him, and he gave them a slight bow.
‘Respect Cypher. Remember to remain respectful, don’t fight them, and tell them anything they wish to know. You can do this!’ he thought.
“Welcome, young Cypher, we have been eagerly expecting you,” said the man, and Cypher instantly recognized him as Elder Fergus. “It is not often that a student finds their way before us, these are serious matters but we welcome you with open arms all the same. We know that this is a difficult time for you, but we will do our best to be gentle. We wish to know how it was that a boy your age was able to cast not only in triplicate but also at the second rank.”
His golden shoulder-length hair shone in the bright sunlight that streamed in from a nearby window and his presence was regal and proud. Like everyone else in the room, he wore a vermillion robe embroidered with gold thread that bore the insignia of the Academy.
“To that end,” continued the woman next to Elder Fergus, “we shall be examining your memories of the event in question, as well as the complexities of the spell you cast and the current condition of your Orrium.” Her hair was the same golden color as Elder Fergus’s, and a single long braid was thrown over her left shoulder.
“You may consider yourself quite gifted to have mastered a spell of such power at your young age. However, recent events have shown that although you do indeed possess great potential, you either lack the skill to use it properly, or there are other, more nefarious intentions behind your actions. That is also what we will be attempting to determine today.”
Both of them looked to only be about thirty or forty years old, while the others were clearly in their sixties or seventies, though their more detailed features were mostly hidden behind their red hoods. They didn’t move and only watched with expressions of interest as Cypher stood with his hands at his sides. Silence filled the room then and he took it as his chance to speak as Alvin had instructed.
“I wish to thank you for accepting my master’s request for leniency. I never meant for any of this to happen, and all I want is to apologize to Alex and carry on with my life. If this is how I begin to go about completing those tasks then I welcome the opportunity,” he said, his voice shaking as he spoke to them.
Each of the Elders gave off a deeply disturbing aura. It was not sinister, but it felt heavy and crushing upon his weary mind. It was almost like wool drenched in thick oil pressing down upon him, and it left him feeling very small in their presence.
He could tell they were suppressing their mental energy as much as they could, and he couldn’t get a grasp of how powerful they were as he stood in the room with them. Elder Fergus held a stern look upon his face, and held out his hand towards the two elders on his left before speaking again.
“Please, do not feel slighted by the silence of the others, they cannot speak around such a young and untested mind like yours. You can understand why I assume? Unless of course, Alvin has been lax in your lessons,” he said, his voice even and controlled as he spoke.
Cypher could understand, Conductors at higher levels were unable to mingle with those too far beneath them. They simply carried too much mental pressure as their minds reached into the higher ranks. If they weren’t careful they could shatter the mental spheres of the less experienced Conductors and kill them on the spot.
That of course led Cypher to wonder how much more powerful than the headmaster these Elders must be. The headmaster of the academy, Sequinnen Dardallus, gave off an impressive aura and was clearly extremely powerful for a Conductor in the fourth rank.
From that Cypher could guess that the Elders were either in the middle of the fourth rank or completely in the fifth. That possibility worried him even more. He didn’t understand exactly how the ranks of conductors worked yet but knowing what he did, they could crush him without even trying if they chose. His caution was even more warranted.
“I am Elder Fergus, and I speak for elder Hiron and elder Valencia. I’m happy to see that you’ve been progressing well since our first encounter in the courtyard of the testing hall, but I regret that this reunion must happen under such dire circumstances.” Elder Ferghus bowed slightly again and looked towards the woman who, like him, had held out her hand towards the two people on her right.
“I am Elder Itzel, and I speak for Elder Julio and Elder Cecil. We have heard many good things about you from Elder Fergus. I must agree with my brother. It is quite a shame that we must meet like this. However, duty calls and such things cannot be avoided. We will begin our probe of your mind now. Please relax and allow us entry if you would be so kind,” she said, mirroring the gesture of Elder Fergus.
Cypher nodded and closed his eyes. In his mind, he envisioned unlocking the door to his Athenaeum and, with effort, pushed the door wide open. The two ethereal figures of Elders Fergus and Itzel appeared on the landing outside, and shortly after that, they vanished inside.
