"You have done a phenomenally well in the last few days." The high priestess said, as they walked alongside. "Today is a bigger experiment though. Give it your all."
The woman opened the large doors of the building and led her through the narrow corridor to the back where a small arena enclosed within. The place was closed from above and surrounded by stands for viewers.
"What is this place used for?"
"Duels and performances."
"Is it the building for theatre or knights?"
"For now, its the art department. The knights train in the next building over and have open class rooms for it. Unfortunately we only have one arena so we have to make a booking to use it. I wanted you to try here last week but the first booking available was today."
Ash remembered that the top floor of the main building was just as big as this. Why not train there? Before Ash could ask, the high priestess, pulled out a chalk from her pocket and began drawing a large circle. Within it, she drew complicated pieces one after another. Ash recognized some of the signs, for light, for a blessing, for a boost in the powers and for a removing fatigue. There were three other signs, she couldn't recognize.
"What is this?" Ash leaned over one of them that looked like language.
"This is to keep the building intact."
Ash frowned. Why would the building not be intact?
The high priestess, once done, kneeled at the head of the circle and prickled her finger for a drop of blood. This surprised Ash. Wasn't blood magic forbidden?
"What? Why..." Ash couldn't form the right words. The priestess smiled slightly. "Do you know the levels at witches need to learn magic?"
"Incantations, wordless incantations, elemental magic."
"Very good. But there are more levels, we just don't address them in university. There is ancient language magic and blood magic. As per the regulations, blood magic is forbidden but that is because it is the most powerful and by the time someone crosses through the knowledge of ancient language it can make a witch or warlock unstable. Now let's start you practice and I will tell you after, why I need blood magic."
Breaking the rules brazenly right in front of a moderator did not sit well with Ash. Though she was not unreasonable, she didn't have good enough reason to look kindly upon it right now.
The priestess stood at the head of the circle, lit a small candle, and placing it inside the circle asked Ash, "now I want you to call upon darkness to the entire building."
Ash's eyes widened, her mind stretched, unable to accommodate the size of the building in relation to the darkness she had recently learned to summon. They started with the room, then the corridor and eventually the entire building. Ash had learned to summon and disperse it. She couldn't help ask, "do I have to disperse it too?"
The high priestess soothed her worries, "only if you can. Just do your best, remember that we are doing this only to check your reach."
Yes. Reach. So far her reach had been to a small building, if she could do a big one, her reach was bigger?
Ash closed her eyes and remembered the warmth of darkness that surrounded her, caressed her skin and enveloped her. Having already done it a few time, the calling was easier. She drove her heart into one direction, into calling the darkness like she had done before. Unlike before, she opened her eyes and watched. The darkness had a smoke-like physical quality too it. It oozed from the shadows of the blenches, from behind the lamps and enveloped everything that was light. It spread like clouds and smoke spread to encase everything in is path. Soon, it had reached the high prietess and swallowed her figure. It was the first time she looked at the high priestess and saw her head matted in sweat, teeth grit and palms clenched, eyes fixed on the candle. As the darkness enveloped the circle and the candle, the faint light of the candle shot lines of light into the darkness. It shone independent and bright like a sun hanging in the darkness of the space.
As her mind began to wander, the light spread wider. Ash focused again. The building. She imagined every unknown corner, every room, every light covered in a dark blanket. She imagined the darkness under tables and chairs expanding from the shadows to swallow everything. She imagined people's shadow expanding out and spreaidng to the walls and ceiling, eating up the lamps around them. Ash had began to see shadows as part of the darkness and darkness was her domain. Even if it wasn't night outside, just yet, she could still influence other things to call darkness.
"Disperse it now." the high priestess called from somewhere.
Ash felt that the high priestess wasn't where she was before but Ash could not see and did not ask. A curious question popped into her head but she'd have to wait until the high priestess was done to ask. She started wrapping the darkness, pushing it back where it came from. Back into the shadows of the people, lamps, of the benches, and corners. As it had come, it was gone.
In its wake, it left the candle overturned in its case, still burning but overturned and the high priestess' hand held the casing, kneeling within the circle now.
Ash asked, "I could feel you had moved. It feels like I can sense where someone is inside the darkness that I summon but curiously enough I can't see in it. Is that normal?"
The high priestess removed her hands from the candle and fell on her hands. "Very few people are ever blessed by the night goddess. There is little chance, any two of them have exact same abilities."
Ash could tell she was breathing heavily and trying not to show it. Ash rushed up to her, "don't talk. Take a rest first."
the high priestess sat down on the floor, cross legged and leaned into Ash heavily. "you are powerful. Much more powerful for your age. A prodigy even. After every session, I don't have enough energy to work with you the other day. Which is why we are working on alternate days. Forget about that."
She took another deep breath and sat straighter, dropping another prickle of blood on the incantation she was sitting in. Much of their side was blurred but it still worked. Her breath came easier and she sat straighter. "Since two of night goddess blessed will never be the same it is hard to say what is normal and what is not. Think of it like you are setting a standard for normal. Now you say you cannot see but you can sense. Right?"
Ash nodded. The high priestess said, "make your senses your eyes. Every time you summon darkness, we will start looking into who you can sense and how far, how clear this sense it."
A fairy zoomed in suddenly. "A message from the student council. All council members are requested to attend a meeting at 3 am. Compulsory attendance. Important agenda to discuss."
Ash felt uneasy in the presence of the little creature whose eyes stared at her like who black hole, lacking expression. The high priestess was looking at the rubbed part of the magic circle and wasn't looking. Ash have it a curt nod and the fairy zoomed out.
Ash knew she'd have to face the council some time. It was only a week and she was back to seeing them again. Her heart was uneasy. Every time she passed by Vance and greeted him casually, her chest ached with something more. She wanted something more between them and pained in the desires that should clearly be unwanted. In her quiet moments, late at night or post nightmare hours, it baffled her that she felt strong for someone she barely knew. It was unexplainable who badly she wanted to stay in his company. A big part of her was looking forward to it but her rationale knew she should not be looking forward to this meeting.
The high priestess looked at her sideways. Ash remembered the priestess could sense people's hearts. Unease shivered through her.
The high priestess smiled. "You don't have to hide it from me. Why don't you want to go to the council meeting?"
Ash shook her head, "It is not that I don't want to go. I just feel too human compared to everyone."
Ash covered up her unease and desires into a large envelope of reluctance. Unsure if a high prietess could see through it or not.
The high priestess stared at her for a long time before she said, "you are either lying and very good at it or you are denying your own eagerness to go to this meeting."
Ash stared at the tall woman who pushed off the floor and stepped out of the circle, chalk in her hand to reinforce the drawings.
"I want to go but I also don't want to." Ash said finally. Even if she did not talk about this person, she couldn't go a long time training with someone like the high priestess by hiding the truth.
The high priestess continued working on her magic circle non chanatly. "did something happen between you and Vance?"
shock coursed through her. The high priestess looked up. "I guessed right?"
"How did you guess it? Though nothing happened. We barely know each other."
"And yet both of you feel the same way about each other. That's pretty curious. In all my life, I have never come across two individuals who felt the exact same way in the exact intensity about each other."
"When was this? And what do you mean by exact intensity?"
"Last week. I called him to my office after you were leaving. The both of your crossed path. It was surprise first, something sweeter next as if the two of you have a crush on each other." Before Ash could even open her mouth, the high priestess gave her a look, "mind you, I live in a college surrounded by this emotion. I know it better than you do but curiously enough, the two of your repelled immediately. There was a hint of yearning but a whole lot of reluctance, as if the two of you have decided that you should not feel this way."
Ash had the urge to groan and hide somewhere. The high priestess finished her work and dusted her hands. "a crush is a crush. I have never met two people who were so reluctant towards each other. It is none of my business so I won't say more. But I have noticed your feelings tend to affect your abilities, so I want you to be attuned to your emotions."
Ash didn't know what to make of that. Vance felt this way about her too? With his straight backed demeanor and his composed attitude, she could never tell he felt the same way. Sure, he had looked at her the same way she had looked at him, curious and interested but to know the intensity of his emotions were the same made the matter more complicated.
Ash looked at the high priestess for a long time. "You can talk to me, you know. Reading people's emotions is the reason I got the job as a warden at the boy's dormitory. It is my job to check, none of those young men are upto some mischief they shouldn't be. I can usually tell a lot of things simply by checking into people's emotions. And right now what you need is someone to talk to."
Ash lowered her head, "I have my friends to talk to but I don't want to talk to them. I think I might have a crush on Vance but I know I shouldn't. I know I cannot be what I trained to be, anymore but I want it. I am here and yet I don't know what I want of my future anymore. I feel tied up and at a loss. The only time I actually feel better is when I am here with you."
The high priestess smiled. "I am glad, even if it is not me making you feel better. I am still glad you have a moment of reprieve."
Ash smiled thankfully. "I just want to know what I am supposed to do and just do it. This time of hanging in the middle, suspended in the knowing, not moving forward. I hate this stalemate."
"That's because your upbringing has been unique. You are taught to think of other, of the world and of tour responsibilities instead of thinking for yourself."
Ash felt the words cut through to her soul. The shock of them wasn't as big but the truth of them was deeper than she expected. It was all true. Every word.
"Why are you so reluctant towards your attraction with Vance?"
"I am a moderator. He is the future leader of Sanguine Knights...." before Ash could finish speaking the high priestess laughed. She really threw her head back and laughed.
"Oh dear child. You are so sweet. You are from a family of moderators. But the future king and queen is the one who will actually moderate. Now that the responsibility has been shifted to your brother, let him train and you live a little. Of course, if you are still eyeing the throne then its different but I have always felt you never did."
Ash shook her head, "I just think my brother is not made for it. I have no problem in him taking the throne if he can rise up to its challenges. With the problems surrounding the island right now, its too much pressure for him."
The high priestess smiled at her kindly. "Maybe he is a diamond in the rough. Let him do this on his own and he'd be the diamond you want him want him to be."
Ash looked down. The high priestess was right. Ash knew it but she couldn't help worry.
"How did we go from talking about Vance to talking about this?"
The high priestess laughed a little more. "you worry for the future too much. Consider your college years as vacation that you never had growing up. Do whatever you want to do. Learn about your powers, live a little. Do you know how many times Vance sneaked in illegal things into the dorm last year? Even as a future leader of the knights!"
"He did? What?"
"That for you to ask him."
Ash scowled and the high priestess laughed. "Now back to training. Expand the darkness as far and wide as you can. No limits and then pull back."
Ash began expanding like she did before. This time, she felt the immense power of its size and capacity, its depth and the creatures folded in its wings. There was a fairy in the stands. Still. Laying down. Was it sleeping? There was another outside. there were many more, zooming in and out, and people, so many people of all races, heights, statures, pausing in confusion, looking around to touch the wall. Moving haphazardly within the darkness.
She felt the fairy in the stands flutter up and up and up. Ash began to pull back. Curious now. As so the darkness dispersed, folded back into the shadows it had come from. Slowly and slowly everything was normal again. Ash looked up and the fairy shot sideways from the ceiling behind a beam.