Just as Devion reached Caspian and raised his hand to cast a spell, another tear of blood flowed from his other eye and he collapsed to the ground. Spitting out more blood than he'd been able to so far. The runes on Umbra's body became brighter again.
The new scar on Devion's face vanished, giving way, once again, to the color of his skin, leaving no trace as the mark had never existed.
"Devion?" Maya questioned. Caspian had dropped the stone dam he'd built, and the rest of the group could now take in the odious scene before their eyes. "Devion, did you do this?"
Devion raised his head, his eyelids trembling, and fell to his knees on the floor. He tilted his head to one side and lifted his chin, looking at his comrade who was staring at him with fear and... disgust. He let out a slight chuckle.
"Hm, that's me, I suppose."
Devion then passed out on the floor.
"How long has he been asleep?"
"Four… or five hours maybe? It must be night by now."
"So we've passed a day here?"
"Yes, I suppose so."
Devion opened his eyes with difficulty. He felt something soft caress his face and before he realized it, Umbra rubbing was her head against him. Her green eyes gazing at him gently, she gave a purr of joy as her faithful ally gently awoke.
"I know you missed me." Devion half-awake and leaning on his elbows, scratched the top of the animal's head responding happily to his outpourings of affection. "And I missed you too."
"It seems like you're doing great." Maya cut Devion off, her face sketching a shy smile. "How are you feeling?"
"Drained of all energy. I feel like I've been asleep for three weeks."
"You probably still need to rest." Thyra replied with an even bigger smile. "My father always tells me that rest is the key to everything."
"Your father..."
"Shut up, Ezekiel." She replied with a false smile hanging in her face. Devion twitched slightly at the student's reaction but just as quickly forgot about it.
"What time is it, actually?"
"Probably night." A shadow stood out and strode towards Devion with a decided step emanating a very unfriendly aura. "But I think your little nap has straightened you out. Now we need to talk."
Caspian grabbed Devion violently by the collar, sending him half off the ground. The latter didn't react any further and let himself be held motionless.
"Care to explain your little murderous rant?" The third-year held him firmly, almost strangling him. Caspian was boiling with rage.
"Are you jealous?" Devion sneered, then in turn shoved his comrade violently.
"Explain yourself." Caspian summoned a rock blade and positioned it at the brunette's adam's apple.
"Hey! Calm down!" Maya tried to soothe.
"You know what's funny?" Devion approached, totally ignoring Maya. "It's that I don't know why I acted the way I did any more than you do."
Caspian clicked his tongue in annoyance and shoved Devion, who was looking at him with a snide glance. The elder stepped back, deciding to distance himself from the dark-haired man, who clearly had no idea what had happened.
Leaning with his back against a rock wall and his arms crossed, Caspian finally enclosed himself in his bubble, making it abundantly clear that he didn't want to be disturbed.
"Well, since we're all awake." Ezekiel held a pebble in his hand, which he amused himself by throwing and catching with his other hand. "I propose a little game before we all go for a well-deserved nap. You too, by the way." He pointed at Vlad.
"Me? What about him?" The first-year replied, glancing, eyebrow raised, pointing at Caspian.
"I value my life." Ezekiel stood up despite Vlad's annoyed gasp. "This game will be especially useful for you youngsters." A slight sneer appeared on his face. "As you now know there are several types of dual element magic. Generally speaking, to awaken another element, the ideal exercise is to retrieve remnants of magic from the environment around us."
Ezekiel stared at Thyra, who was looking down at her feet with sweaty hands.
"We call this game Vestiges of Echoes."
Thyra raised her head and squeezing the point she glared angrily at her comrade, who was laughing at her reaction.
Ezekiel knew.
And despite everything, he'd chosen this game anyway.
"No, Thyra. You can see there's a bit of the wind element just here." His father spoke the words in a gentle but strict voice. "Do you know why this game is called that?"
The girl nodded negatively. Her gaze was locked in her father's, all her concentration on the man in front of her.
Thyra Coenburg was a very pretty little girl. Known for her long, snowy hair and gray eyes that complimented her sumptuous head of hair. She was the envy of all, having completely inherited her parents' beauty.
At the age of eleven, she was already proudly able to use the wind power she had inherited from her father, who was also initially a wind user.
But Toren Coenburg was a very unique father. Born a wind user, he had acquired the power of fire in his teens, making a rare double element: Flamestorm. So one of his priorities had been to make his beloved daughter a Flamestorm user like himself.
"This game is called Vestiges of Echoes because it aims at finding remnants of magic that have remained clinging to our environment despite the time that has passed." Toren pointed to the trees that formed the forest they were in. "They're like echoes of the past. Magic that we haven't forgotten and, above all, that doesn't want to be forgotten."
"But why can't everyone feel these elements?"
"This world isn't fair, Thyra." He began. "Magic chooses its chosen ones and not only does detecting these elements require extreme concentration also it's not given to everyone."
"So I need to find the presence of the fire element?"
"If the fire element wants you to find it, you'll find it, honey."
The game had resumed and Thyra was trying, as best she could, to concentrate as much as possible, something that definitely not easy at her young age. Closing her eyes tightly, which made her father laugh, the child ran her hand over everything around her, hoping to cross paths with the element of fire.
They soon came to a small body of water decorated with trees that seemed to have all their attention focused on this little lake.
"Dad! Look! It's so beautiful!" Thyra rushed toward the small body of water so light blue it almost matched the color of the girl's hair.
"Be careful, Thyra. Stagnant water isn't always a good sign."
The child didn't listen to her father and rushed straight to the lake to dip her hands happily in. The water was cold, almost freezing, but in such heat it seemed heavenly soft.
Thyra laughed heartily, splashing herself with water, and beckoned Toren to join her.
"Thyr-" Taking a splash of water in the face the man was stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh, you don't know who you're messing with!"
What followed was a water fight that left father and daughter soaked to the skin. But nothing mattered, they were happy and that's all that mattered.
Until a few particles in the lake began to glow and rise, merging with Thyra's skin.
It was the element of water.
Thyra had just awakened a form of one of the two main elements.
She had just awakened an alternative form of mist.
"Thyra, I think you've done it." Toren gently rubbed the top of his daughter's head.
"But it's not the fire element!"
"No, no, no. I want you to be proud! A double element user at such a young age! Congratulations!"
Back home, Thyra rushed to her mother, all excited and proud. She told her all about her day in great detail while her mother, head bowed and looking a little tired, had her hand resting on her round belly.
Thyra was going to have a brother or a sister. This delighted the child, who had always been weary of the boredom of being an only child.
When she had finished her tale, Thyra rested her head on her mother's belly, who looked at her with tenderness.
"Will it be a girl or a boy?"
"I don't know, sweetheart, but it doesn't matter. The most important thing is that we get to share our daily lives with a new member of our beautiful family."
Thyra nodded at her mother's words, while her father watched them from afar, delighted to be part of a family that offered him so much love every day.
The days passed, and as Thyra's mother's belly grew rounder and fatter by the day, the Coenburg family's happiness only increased. Every week, Thyra bought a new item of clothing to give to her future brother or sister.
Thyra had also started training the new element she had acquired under the proud tutelage of her father, who marveled at his daughter's progress.
"I will go to Orpheion when I'm older!" was the motto Thyra had taken to repeating every day. Not only was she convinced of this, but with such skills, she even hoped to claim to be one of the best of the academy.
One evening when Toren came home late, Thyra had kept her mother company and, as a model little girl, had cooked and done all the household chores so that her mother didn't have to lift a finger.
A bird sang at the window and the front door opened with a bang.
Two men in uniform held Toren tightly, preventing him from moving.
"Shut up!"
Toren staggered into the house, visibly wounded in the leg and leaving a trail of blood before the shocked eyes of the two women.
"Dad? What's going on?"
Toren replied only with a sorry look at the poor child shocked by the spectacle unfolding before her eyes.
"Mrs. Coenburg? I'm going to have to ask you to come with us."
"She's pregnant! Please, take me but leave her!"
"I told you to shut up!"
One of the two men struck Toren's head with a heavy blow, causing another gush of blood. Powerless, Thyra's mother got up and walked towards her husband and the two strange guards who were holding him so tightly.
Then everything connected in the young girl's mind.
These two men were royal guards, as their burgundy and gold uniforms clearly indicated.
"What do you want with my father? Let him go!" Thyra asked in a tone that was harsher than desired. Her boldness had overridden her fear, we were talking about her parents after all.
"Come here." One of the two guards beckoned to her and when Thyra was close enough, he grabbed her chin firmly and watched her with the cruelest look she'd ever seen.
"Let her go, please!" Toren cried out.
"You listen to me, kid." The guard resumed his speech, totally ignoring Toren who was crying on the other side, begging him to let go of his daughter. "Parvanians can't do everything they want. And both your parents here have broken the law so they deserve punishment."
"Let go of me." The child broke free of the guard's grip and pushed him away violently. "My parents are beautiful people, they would never do anything wrong!"
All powers out, Thyra concentrated, summoning wind and water. She may be young, but she knew how to defend herself.
"This exact action is why we've come for them, kid." He approached, his face contorted by a cruel, terrifying smile. "The awakening of a second element is reserved for the elite. And, neither you nor they, are Thepra's elite."
Thyra's mother began coughing violently, it was probably difficult for her to stand given the advanced stage of her pregnancy.
"Let her sit down, I beg you!"
The two guards exchanged glances and a sneer appeared on the face of one before he pulled out what looked like a rifle.
"No!"
A bullet went off with a shrill noise, further shattering the silence already tainted by tears and despair.
Toren fell to the ground in a pool of blood.