The hooded cultist leaned in between us and breathed heavily in our ears, "I see you've brought a friend, well that's quite alright..."
We were at a complete stand still and strained ourselves to breathe. Our eyes dart toward one another and the cultist steps in between us, gently guiding us toward the campfire. Each of the cult members looked as though they hadn't eaten in months, however had each wore a eerie and creepy smile. As we made our way closer the the fire, we noticed that everyone is watching us, not saying a word. Their stares are a bit of a conundrum, expressing a sense of emptiness, and yet full of malicious intent.
What the hell is going on? Why am I walking toward this campfire? Who are these people? Am I going to die, again?
We ended stopping in front of the fire, and it honestly felt like it took decades for us to reach it, and the cultist sat us down on a log. The rest of the members assemble in a 4x5 block formation behind the us, and dropped to their knees. What appeared to be the leader of the group approached and bowed before us, "Greetings, Child and friend. My name is Father Declan Ernesh, and my subordinates and I have been awaiting your arrival."
I tried to open my mouth to speak, however I was unable to unlock my jaw.
"I'm sure you have plenty of questions," Father Declan Ernesh stated with a menacing smile. "Please, hold them until the end of the story... Oh do forgive me, it seems I got a little too excited and forgot to continue our introduction. My subordinates and I are followers of our Dear Dragoness. Are you aware of her glory? The grace she bestows upon us and this land?"
We may have had the able to move stripped away from us, but our eyes widened in fear, "Our Lady Tiamat will bring us salvation, and it pleases me to meet you, the one that carries her will..."
This is not good... If only I could move, I'd get us the hell out of here... But for some reason, this presence... I can't explain it... It's dense, like a mountain of bricks just fell on top of me. This is bad. What's worse, Niko can barely protect himself from attacks like this...
I glanced over at Niko and saw that my brother was mortified down to his core. Father Declan Ernesh sat in-between us; his presence was dense and malevolent, unlike anything we've ever witnessed.
Dare I say, his aura is as strong as Father's...
The leader's menacing smile grew larger and larger as he placed his hands on our backs, "Please, no need to be so tense, our teachings are spread throughout the continent... We, the adherents of The Dragon Steadfast, devote our lives and bodies to our dear Mother of Reality... Tell me, do you know the story of this world's creation?"
We fired a quick glance at one another before directing our attention back to Father Declan Ernesh, "Y-yes... The D-dragoness... The Reality Queen..." I managed to let out.
"Oh? You do?" Father Declan question, then snapped his attention to Niko, "And you?"
Iniko continued to stare at Father Declan Ernesh as though he were in a trance of some sort. I noticed this and attempted to reach for my brother's hand, my movements were slowed as if I were in slow-motion. I don't understand what's going on! Where's is the Professor..? I can't think about that now... It's pretty clear they don't want to hurt us... Judging by how calm everyone is, I can assume this group is a bunch of pacifists, but that doesn't explain this intense and dangerous feeling I'm getting from this guy. And it doesn't help that the one hooded guy said that they were expecting us... Something isn't right... Something feels off about this... But I can't move... I can't do anything...
Father Declan Ernesh continued to smile and stare at us, watching me attempt to sooth my brother's fear. I was eventually able to persevere and managed to grab Iniko's hand. As I squeezed his left hand, Iniko's eyes, that were completely hollow and devoid of any life, began to shimmer with hope; Father Declan Ernesh smiled.
"Please, allow me to tell you just who and what our Dear Mother truly was," Father Declan Ernesh began to tell the story of their sovereign; his story mirrored the same story that Mother would tell me and my siblings, however there is more context added to this tale that I'd never heard of. For starters, in this story, the Dragoness has a name, which is Tiamat. She was a part of a draconic race of beings known as Primordials*. These beings are concepts that have taken somewhat of a physical form. For example, a person that can manipulate wind can only do just that, control the wind around them. However, the Primordials, is that wind manifested in physical form. The mage that can manipulate the wind is borrowing the power, or the Aspect of that Primordials' power.
Father Declan Ernesh continued to tell the story of their god; he made mention of the idea, although he claimed it to be a fact, that, Lady Tiamat is responsible for creating humanity and life in hTraé. He stated her reasoning was due to her loneliness, as her fellow Primordials found solemn and content with their isolation, "You see, Lady Tiamat, didn't just create humanity, she birthed reality as we know it..."
Wait a minute, that means...
Father Declan Ernesh squinted his eyes and creeped a terrifying smile, "I see you're starting to catch on... You're both seem to be very gifted, albeit, your power is still immature..."
Wait, maybe I don't get it...
Father Declan Ernesh stood up from the log and spread his arms out, looking toward the night sky, "Throughout my years of servitude and devotion, I was always told Lady Tiamat's primordial power will be reborn, and to be confronted with that power, in the flesh is nothing short of magnificent!"
The priest caresses his face, causing the other hooded people to rejoice.
Where is Professor Greenwitch?!
Father Declan Ernesh clapped his hands together to regain his composure; when he did this, his subordinates immediately follow suit. Father Declan Ernesh pressed his finger to his lips and directed his followers to listen to the ambient sounds of the forest. Branches and twigs that were intentionally scattered near and around the campfire began to snap, alerting the group that someone is coming.
I instantly noticed that the intense aura had been lifted due to the presence of the intruder, "There you two are," it was Professor Greenwitch along with the rest of our party. "You had us worried sick... Oh, what's this?"
All the hooded followers remove their hoods and Father Declan Ernesh's malicious intent is masked by a humble and innocent smile, "Greetings, you must be these two guardian, am I correct?" Father Declan probed. "We were just giving these children an introduction to our doctrine."
The professor gave us a sterner look before addressing the priest, "I see, you two managed to stumble into a worship ceremony..."
Is that what they call it?! I felt nothing but death and evil coming from this man...
"The Dragon Steadfast is a religious group that worships the Dragoness," Professor Greenwitch stated, "they are a non-violent group of people that teaches the denizens of Avalon about her origins."
"Ah, I see you are well-learned," the priest said, closing his eyes gently. "Allow me and my group to retire, it seems it is currently the top of the hour and we must continue with the rest of our devotional tasks."
Father Declan Ernesh directed his attention to me and Niko, "I'm sure we'll meet soon in the future..."
Father Declan Ernesh instructed his subordinates to gather their things so they can make their exit. Professor Greenwitch grabbed hold of both of our shoulders, a wave of relief and comfort overwhelmed us and wee bursted into tears, "Hey now! It's okay, look, I know you two are strong, but you have to be careful, thankfully you weren't in any harm... The Dragon Steadfast is renowned for being the peace throughout ShanGri-La... They're good people," he said comforting us.
I'm having a hard time believing that he believes that... That group is dangerous...
Professor Greenwitch helps the boys up and they make their way out of the forest.
Hours later, our party made our way back to the guild hall's inn where we're currently staying. Each of us headed to our respective rooms; Iniko and I sat in their room in complete silence, neither of us had the will or courage to speak on what we just witnessed. We locked eyes and although neither of us spoke, it was clear that we must not mention to anyone the details of their encounter with The Dragon Steadfast.
I don't know what's going on with that religious group, but I do know if I say anything negative about them, it will cause a lot of trouble... I do want to know what they're up to, but for now, we just need to make sure we keep a low profile and not draw any unwanted attention... Let's just take things day by day...
The two of us nodded our heads and shut off the light before fading a sleep.
Two Years Later
After spending pass three years at The Caliburn Institute, me and my siblings have matured into fine young mages. I'm now ten years old, the head of my class and I'm seen as a model mage. Minerva and Renata learned more ways to utilize their spells and work in combination with each, and Iniko grasped the fundamentals of mana manipulation.
"The pass few years have been eventful, but I can say that each of you have surpassed my expectations!" Professor Greenwich exclaimed. "I mean, it is only natural, seeing how I am the best teacher this city has had the pleasure of knowing."
And like that, we collectively rolled eyes and gave our teacher a grimace; Renata raised her hand, "Yes, Lady Renata," he called out.
"Will there be another advancement tournament since this is our last year?" Renata pondered.
Professor Greenwitch clapped his hands once, "EXCELLENT QUESTION! No, as a collective, this class is has been recognized as the most tactful and cunning class amongst the entire school... So you see, it'll really be a waste of time if you were to participate..."
"That doesn't really make sense, but okay," Minerva shrugged.
The rest of the class started to chuckle at Minerva's out burst; our professor raised his arms to simmer us down, "I'll put it to you like this, what is the difference between an Elkboar and a Jaguarmink?"
We grew quite and still, "No one? Well, the obvious difference is one is a predator and the other is prey, but it's the fact the each is aware of their role in life. You see, the Elkboar cannot even fathom the thought to protect itself from a Jaguarmink; the predator is just that much stronger, and the Elkboar knows this. It knows that if it does provoke the Jaguarmink, it'll mean certain death... I say all of this because, each of you, in this hypothetical, is a Jaguarmink, while the rest of the school are Elkboar."
Our eyes all widen as our professor gave his lecture; Professor Greenwitch checked the time on a nearby sundial, "But, my time is up here! I do enjoy giving you children lessons and lectures, but I've been waiting for this day! My extended vacation is finally here!!"
"Should you really be telling us that?"
"Well why not? I am, after all, still your teacher..." Professor Greenwitch chuckled.
Niko raised his hand, "But we're advancing to Avalon Academy, aren't we? Won't we get another teacher?"
The professor smirked, "Oh, sure you will. And I'm sure whoever you get as your instructor, they'll be eager to teach you lot!"
We collected squinted our eyes in suspicion, Something is telling me he's hiding something...
Professor Greenwitch dismissed his class; we ended up heading back to our room so we can start packing our belongs. Niko and I reflected on all that we've been through since meeting, the attempted murder of our mother, my kidnapping, the encounter with The Dragon Steadfast, and many more. Although we're content with our lives now, greater forces were currently at play, and had mapped out a path for me and my friends that we truly were not prepared for.
To be Continued...