Chapter Twelve: Fatal Truths

"All the members are here. I suppose we may begin now." King Nikolus ordered.

The four Elders bowed their heads once before pivoting around to face them.

It was Ayra's first time seeing all the Elders of the Circle in one place. This by itself demonstrated the heaviness of the whole situation.

Elder Petra studied every wizard in the throne room, her shrewd eyes jumping from one face to the other. When her sharp gaze met Ayra's, a sense of familiarity rushed between them.

Ayra, Neslyn and Valda recognized Elder Petra almost immediately. Elder Petra was the oldest one in the entire Circle. She had been in power since the official ruling body came into existence twenty years ago under the orders of the King. But that was not the reason why Ayra came to know about this woman.

It was the frequent visits to the Academy that did the trick. Ayra always thought that Elder Petra was a difficult being. With her short frame and an excessively dominating presence, Elder Petra was the living embodiment of a stone sculpture. She was a woman of few, razor-sharp words and even fewer emotions. Yet, although her heart was made of stone, it was still a pulsating one nonetheless.

Elder Petra would often come by to deliver missions by herself, even though a member of the Circle wasn't required to do so. Ayra found it peculiar but later found out that the small venture back and forth to the Academy was just a reason to visit Mother Danelle.

Mother Danelle had shaped an important relationship with the Elder throughout her time as a Guardian. Elder Petra thought of Mother Danelle as her own daughter. Although she didn't transparently show her love, it was always the little things that held a profound, warm significance to their strong bond.

A small smile broke onto her otherwise stoic face at the sight of the three grinning wizards before her. Ayra felt somewhat glad. That little grin was her only achievement after knowing the Elder for a long time.

"Ah, will you look at that? It's the three little troublemakers of the Academy. It is indeed a pleasant surprise to see you here."

"That's cruel, Elder Petra." Valda huffed in a teasing tone. "You didn't expect us to grace you with our presence after that very demanding letter you sent?"

Elder Petra didn't chuckle but the small smile on her face broadened a little, the round-confined glasses perched on her button nose slightly lifting in the process.

"I see you are still able to joke, Valda. Even though I'm in no mood for some dry humour like that." She said with a dead tone.

Valda delicately laughed. "Ouch."

Elder Petra's smile stayed, even though she shook her head.

"In any case, as straightforward as it may be, I genuinely didn't hope to see you three here. I was reluctant while conveying this letter to your Academy. Awful as that might be, I simply accepted Danelle would not permit you to partake in this mission."

She slid her eyes towards Ayra.

"Especially considering what befell her and Ayra eight years ago."

Ayra swallowed but did not reply.

"Mother Danelle has never turned down a mission specially requested by you, Elder Petra. Also, I'm very sure she understands the situation we are in." Neslyn reasoned softly.

Cressa opened her mouth. "Are you trying to say that this entire mission depends on your participa----"

Rydan covered her mouth.

"Lebh meh gho yoo rufhiaghn." She spluttered against his hand.

Rydan grinned sheepishly.

"Please do continue. I apologise for the trouble."

"Tch, tch." Elder Albert shook his gleaming, bald head. "I don't recall the Guardians being so ill-mannered before His Majesty."

Cressa snarled but Rydan held her back.

"We apologize for the trouble."

Elder Petra continued, utterly unperturbed by the mayhem around her.

"That is indeed true, Neslyn. But I would've understood if Danelle had ignored my request too."

"But we are not here to discuss that." She stated firmly.

"As you all may know by now,"

Elder Petra raised her head.

"The First Gate has been showing signs of infiltration once again."

And just like that, every wizard's spine locked up straight and eyes turned sharp.

Ayra slightly narrowed her eyes at that statement.

Elder Petra continued after a small pause, allowing everyone present in the royal room a couple of moments to process these words.

"It is similar to what happened eight years ago but at the same time, it's not. No one knows what happened. No one knows who is doing all of this or why this is happening again after eight years. It may be a complete coincidence too but we are not sure of that either. There are a lot of possibilities that we sketched out but we absolutely have no lead by any means."

"But the one thing that we know without a doubt, is that if the Gate is opened once more, then sealing it back will cost several lives. History will repeat itself if we make one terrible move."

Elder Petra took in all the expressions that were plastered on each face, watching for any indication of dread or vulnerability. Ayra didn't disregard how the Elder's keen eyes stayed a second or two longer on her face."

Elder Petra spoke again.

"Eight years ago, the First Gate opened and the whole town of Azrynia was almost slaughtered. Demons of various sorts and shapes continued to spill out of the opening and only stopped when dawn broke. We're not sure what stopped them either."

Petra's voice turned solemn.

"But this time, it is different."

Ayra frowned at that.

"What do you mean by different?" Aslan voiced out her thought.

Petra sighed. Ayra has never seen the Elder so stressed. It was almost rueful to see her like this.

"Wait a minute." Cressa cut in all of a sudden.

"You're telling all of this but what about the Priests of the Ruins? What happened to them? Aren't they ordered to report even if they sense a slight ripple in the seal? There must be some signs that surfaced before the Gate was forced open, right?"

Silence.

"So? What is it?" Cressa incessantly pushed.

Everyone turned towards the Elder, anticipating the response to that collective curiosity.

"I need you all to calm down." She shifted her gaze towards the viper. "And for your question, Cressa."

"We...do not know what happened to the Priests."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Rydan asked, slightly stepping forward.

"We do not know what happened to the Priests. However, the village is unharmed."

Again, silence. Heavy, crushing silence.

Ayra stared at their faces for a long time, repeating Petra's words again and again and again in her head like a neverending siren.

She softly voiced out the only question that was bothering her.

"What is preventing you from reaching the ruins?"

Everyone turned their head towards her.

Valda turned her wide eyes towards Ayra and glanced back at a silent Petra.

"What is--"

"Ayra, what do you mean?" Neslyn hurriedly inquired.

"I'm sure you all know this but the Priests stay close to the Ruins to monitor the Gates and utilize their powers to reinforce the seal regularly."

"If the First Gate breaks open, then they are the ones to stand in the front lines and do everything to stop the demons from attacking the villagers. But this time, as Elder Petra stated, the village of Azrynia is unharmed. So, it is safe to assume that there are no demons in and around the village. But if you don't have an idea what happened to the Priests, then it inevitably means that you don't know what's happening inside the ruins, either."

She lowered her eyes.

"Which means that we don't exactly know if the First Gate is broken."

Everyone was staring at her, eyes blown out with sudden realisation.

"I see you have figured that out."

"You were playing around with your words, Elder Petra. However, I never heard you straightforwardly state that the First Gate has been broken." Ayra paused and shrugged.

"Except for the letter that you sent to the Academy, maybe. But I'm sure you had a reason for lying to Mother Danelle."

"Wizard, are you indirectly accusing Elder Petra of fraudulence?" The pot-bellied Elder stepped in with a disapproving scowl plastered on his face.

Elder Petra. "I do not know about her Elder Albert but it seems like you have shared some similar feelings. Is there something you want to tell me?"

Elder Albert visibly struggled for the right response.

"That's what I thought."

Elder Petra sighed, turning towards Ayra. "It was an emergency, Ayra. And Danelle wouldn't approve unless it was a crisis. I had no option."

Ayra nodded her head in understanding. It was the only way to allow them on this mission, after all.

A short, strong applause cut through the air.

"Marvelous."

A tall figure ventured forward.

"I have heard many things about the wizards of the notorious Academy, yet to be able to observe it in front of my own eyes, is a wonder in itself."

Elder Mikael wore a charismatic smile on his devilishly handsome face.

The Circle comprised four Elders; four heads that commanded the entire administrative body. They exuded equal authority and dominance as the ruling magical body of the kingdom. But everyone realised that even the Elders indirectly but discreetly obeyed the orders of one person.

And that one person was Mikael Raphaelis.

Though he possessed a balanced amount of power in his hands, Mikael's wisdom and raw knowledge held an impact like no other. His words were trusted and his actions were justifiable.

He was undoubtedly the concealed head and leading authority of the Circle.

Ayra has heard Elder Petra praise him on numerous occasions but this is the first time she is seeing him in the flesh.

His long, raven hair was cropped on one side; the length on the other side streaming down onto his shoulder like a smooth sheet of complete blackness. His deep set of dark eyes crinkled and seemed to match the smile on his pale face.

Mikael slowly stepped towards her.

"Nice to meet you, Ayra. I've heard a lot of things about you. It is truly a pleasure to see you in person."

Ayra felt slightly embarrassed at his undivided attention on her but she managed to nod back.

"Likewise, Elder Mikael."

Mikael smiled back accordingly.

"Enough with the smiles, Mikael. You're scaring the young wizard."

Ayra's eyes significantly widened, a refusal prepared on her tongue to that statement.

However, Mikael didn't seem to be bothered by it.

"That was not my intention, Kyra. Stop reading too much into the situation." He answered effortlessly.

Elder Kyra sniggered before sliding a narrowed glance at Ayra.

Elder Kyra looked the youngest among the four Elders. Her long, dark brown sinuous hair twisted down to her curvaceous body. However, her eyes held a slight admonition in them and Ayra half contemplated whether she was Cressa Theagen's lost sister.

"Let's get back to the mission." Mikael rumbled, his face taking a serious look.

"What Ayra said was true. We do not know what happened to the priests." His eyes hooded.

"But we do have information on what's happening in the ruins."

"A day ago, during the dead of the night, a priest came running back to the village, completely worn and bloodied up. A passerby found him lying on the perimeters. He was almost unconscious when he was found."

"They are coming. They are going to kill us all-- these are the words he kept on repeating before passing out cold. The Lord of Azrynia immediately deployed a unit of guards to see what the chaos was all about."

His eyes turned grave.

"But they were unable to reach the ruins."

"Why?" Aslan questioned. "Is there a barrier?"

"To some degree. You can call that a hindrance of certain sorts."

"Then let us just break it. What's the big deal in that?" Cressa huffed.

Mikael smiled slightly. "It is not that easy, wizard. It's not a barrier that you can break easily."

"Why not?"

"Since it is an obstruction made of mist."

"So?" Cressa questioned. "It's just mist. Sub-elemental powers are not incredible. It is anything but difficult to break a barrier like that. Besides, the barrier is only around the ruins, right? How difficult can it be?"

"You're right. If it was a barrier surrounding the ruins, then our dispellers would be able to break it."

Mikael raised his head and stared directly at us.

"But this barrier surrounds the whole forest."

Everyone stilled. The wind grew rigid.

"The--whole--" Rydan spluttered.

"Impossible." Aslan stepped forward. "Creating a magical barrier at such a great feat is impossible! The entire forest--no, it's absolutely impossible." He breathed out, shaking his head in dismay.

"Indeed." Mikael concurred smoothly. "A wizard will be unable to accomplish something like this."

His deep eyes grew a shade darker.

"But a demon certainly can."

Ayra sucked in a tight breath. The air grew heavy with tension.

"Then--then that would mean--" Neslyn's eyes were wide.

Mikael nodded solemnly.

"Yes. This may lead to the possibility of the First Gate being forced open. But we can't be too sure."

"B-But--still-" Cressa started hurriedly. "What if the mist covers a whole fucking forest!? We can still reach the ruins and find out what's happening, right?" Her voice had taken a more frantic tone.

Mikael stared deep into Cressa's eyes.

"Do..you know what happened to the guards who foolishly ventured inside this mass of mist?"

Cressa flinched at his sharp tone.

His voice turned unnervingly soft.

"They never returned."

Ayra found it hard to breathe. It looked like Cressa was having the same problem.

"What do you mean?"

"What I just said, wizard. They went in and never came back. This barrier is dangerous. It's safe to assume that a demon is responsible for creating something like this. Furthermore, the guards were all mundanes. For all we know, they may be dead at this point.'

"We do not know what's lurking behind that mass of mist. Every step we take matters."

Cressa said nothing in response. She faced the ground, deeply lost in her thoughts.

"Do you think the priests too--?"

Mikael nodded his head. "It's possible."

The silence was punishingly arduous.

"Then we must leave for this mission right now! We have no time to spare." Rydan growled out loud. Ayra swore she heard the ground rumble slightly in response.

Ayra was inclined to agree. A small hope clung to her heart, truly believing that nothing happened to the guards and the priests trapped inside the vicious mist. Ayra didn't want to think about the other possibility. She refused to think about it.

Maybe, just maybe, they would be able to save them.

King Nikolas opened his mouth, breaking his silence for the first time since the gathering started.

"Indeed. The preparations for your journey have been already made." He announced out aloud.

"It's time to embark on your mission now, wizards."

They slowly dipped their heads in agreement, hearts and minds prepared.