IV. Advenus
Though the student body was populous beyond belief, the behemoth chambers of the Great Hall had somehow managed to accommodate to all of them. In fact, despite the sea of uniform blue cloaks swimming through the banquet tables, the Great Hall felt oddly sparse at the moment. The hall was freezing; it felt cold enough to chill the bones. Magi huddled around each other, swaddled with additional cloaks. Others crowded underneath the oversized lantern at the center of the hall in vain. Caelum resisted the urge to sigh.
The lantern was held to the ceiling only by a weathered brass chain and was far too high to offer any real warmth.
Ignoring the chilling sensation crawling up her spine, Caelum strode to the podium and cleared his throat. No reaction.
She muttered the incantation "Magna Vox." under her breath and tried again.
"Ahem. May I please have everybody's attention?" She asked. Her voice rang through the halls and echoed fiercely. There was a dissonant edge to each echo and soon, every mage had turned towards her.
They were painfully transparent, even with their hoods on. Every single one of them.
"First of all, allow me to apologize. It was not the Headmaster that has called you into the Great Hall but me," Caelum started and a sea of murmurs arose.
'Wait for it,' she reminded herself as she clenched her jaw.
"I beg your pardon?" A soprano voice rang out, "Only the Headmaster can summon us! Isn't this a crime?"
Caelum rolled her eyes. That mage was trying so hard to sound so assertive but it came off as a shrill whine.
"You are correct," She responded. "It is a criminal offense."
Another series of murmurs arose and he could have sworn he heard a triumphant "Hmph!"
"Under normal circumstances," She finished and the murmurs ceased. "I am the apprentice of the Headmaster and he has delegated this task to me."
"In an attempt not to cause any panic, I used a simple spell you all should know: Mutatio Vox. I temporarily took on the voice of the Headmaster, and made the announcement to the campus. Please allow me to explain why." Caelum explained.
"With a heavy heart, shall I impart this information upon you," She continued. "The Headmaster has perished."
The hall was dead silent. Gone were the rustling of cloaks and the skeptical murmurs.
"His death has sent his beloved dragon Fulgur into a frenzy. The Headmaster was the only one who could tame the beast. So, until the members of the Aero Mage Council arrive to knock Fulgur out, we shall remain in the Great Hall." Caelum finished.
She felt a rush of cold air run up his spine once she had concluded her speech. Caelum's eyes scanned the crowd, searching for the perpetrator. But who would be stupid enough to cast a chilling spell on her, especially at this time?
Nobody, she reminded herself. The hall was just cold.
"Me," An unnervingly distorted voice giggled, snapping her out of her thoughts. "These silly little kids probably don't even know what a chilling charm is. But I sure do!"
Caleum swiftly spun around. Only the looming darkness of the corridor behind her met her gaze.
"All I needed to do was knock one of these sheep out cold. Then, I stole the tome and then said frigus. Did it spook you? It looks like it did. Good. You looked like you needed a harmless little scare." The voice said in a sing-song tone.
"I was going to dissuade you from taking on a position on the Council. Nothing good ever comes out of that. But you know, you're still a baby bird. You've yet to see the world. Once you do, you'll be in for a bigger spook. All you'll need is one little look. Just a peep." The voice continued in an almost reminiscent tone. "Tehee. This is farewell. You'll remember me once you go off into that posh little tower of yours to sleep."
"You're not a magus." Caelum muttered.
"Speak up little bird. I can't hear you." The voice said mockingly.
"I said, you're not a magus." Caelum repeated. "How did you cast the Frigus charm?"
"Magic of course," The voice responded in a deadpan. "I've been told you're exceptionally bright but now I'm wondering if everybody in this cute little school is just exceptionally dumb."
Caelum withdrew her staff from within her cloak and thrust it forward. It only struck air.
"Ohoho. You'll have to try harder than that little bird. I would stay and chat but I need to find this one little magus. I fear he might spoil my plans." The voice chuckled tauntingly.
"I will not allow you to harm any mage within the Great Hall." Caelum declared in a steely tone. "We have wards up that prevent any combat magic from being used. If you attempt to harm somebody with your bare hands, I will personally see to it that you are knocked out."
"You do? Then why was I able to cast Frigus?" The voice said in mock surprise.
"The chilling charm is not a combat spell. As you said earlier, it is only a harmless scare tactic." Caleum responded.
"Heh, whatever you say little bird. Besides, who said that my magus was in the Great Hall?" The voice replied.
Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...
"You can't be serious." Caelum said in a low voice. "There's an academy student wandering around the premises?"
"What a responsible little leader. Losing a student on her first day of work. Aevus would be so proud." The voice laughed coldly.
Caelum hurled a fragor sphere into the endless darkness of the corridor. It exploded in a shower of soft gold light, which lingered for a fleeting moment. All she saw was the running velvet carpet and the faded beige walls of the hallway.
"What are you?" Caelum gasped as the cold tension began to tighten its grip around her body.
"You'll find out." The voice chirped. "I'll see you soon baby bird."
And with that, the eerie distorted voice faded away.
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"Greetings, this is Caelum Nubis, apprentice of the late Alexander Aevus. Please respond as soon as possible. There have been reports of an academy student being sighted outside the campus."
Caelum clutched the communication sphere tightly in her shaking hand. She had gotten absolutely no response whatsoever from the Council since the whole descent into chaos started.
And on top of that, there was a student running around the campus grounds while the land's most feared, most capricious dragon was roaming across the land. She might as well have walked straight into a pyre.
"Caelum?" A voice rang out. Caelum flinched, grabbed her staff, and turned around swiftly. She breathed a sigh in relief when her eyes met a pair of calming sea green orbs.
Then she narrowed her eyes and took a hostile stance.
Why was he here?
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Image Source: DeviantArt White Dragon by sandara on DeviantArt