Sol found these caverns very unpleasant, not because they were dark or gave off a weird smell of dampness, but because his senses told him that many powerful creatures were to be found there. It has to be said that his gift was put to the test in these places, where all kinds of magic reigned.
The mixture of a large number of elite magicians in the making and unidentified magical creatures all gathered in the same place made Sol hesitant and worried.
Fortunately, he was well accompanied.
Galahad was combing the area with his mist powers and insisting on the element of wind to detect the monsters' positions by air movements, while Carla was turning anything she didn't like into an icicle before shattering it.
The two second-years accompanying them and the third-year were quite friendly but not really the kind of person he wanted to be friends with. So Sol had decided to stay back with his two classmates.
He had learned something new, however, which had left him a little confused from the very first hours of their expedition.
There were other combinations of several elements. The elders of the group had explained that this was something that was often learned during training camps, as everyone could observe each other's powers and sometimes even awaken them.
The student secretly hoped he could add another element to his water power, but was hesitant about his skills.
He plunged his hand into his pocket, where he found the stone the teachers had given them. He hoped he wouldn't have to use it.
Another object was in his pocket, and he sensed that the weak magic coming from it would always bring him back to reality. Yet he didn't dwell on it.
Now was not the time.
"A passage over there!" The third-year leading the group beckoned. Sol lingered his gaze where she was pointing.
Indeed, in that direction was a small, rather narrow passage. It was hypothetical but plausible to think that in such a narrow path the hordes of golems and skeletons that were previously attacking them would probably not be able to go this way.
"Let's go." Galahad replied, tightening his ponytail, which was sagging under the weight of his hair and, above all, the fighting.
The whole group was fine, but a few wounds were noticeable on their faces. Small scratches here and there and a big cut along Sol's arm. Fortunately, one of the two second-years had excellent healing skills. Sol's pain was almost gone, but he knew he'd been careless and could have avoided the injury.
The group then resumed walking, threading their way as best they could. Sol could feel his arms rubbing against the rock, causing further injury.
"Why do we have to go through this damn passage!" Carla grumbled, trying to build a wall of ice behind her so she could slide down the wall. "I hope Maya's okay."
"I hope Dev's okay." Sol cut in without really realizing it. An air of concern darkened his gaze as he progressed slowly through the path.
"We absolutely must stay focused." replied the third-year at the head of the group. Dala, Sol remembered her name. "You'll think of your friends later."
The two second years who followed, Wren and Keth, nodded in agreement.
Galahad remained silent, but Sol felt him tense up. It had to be said that, as a prince, he was accustomed to being the leader, and he didn't like to hand over the role to someone else.
But Galahad was a calm, thoughtful young man. He knew how to keep things in perspective. Even if he couldn't help thinking that leaving this role to someone else wasn't the best idea.
Sol and Galahad exchanged a look when they reached the end of the path. A look of concern, but above all of surprise.
Before their eyes lay an immense room made of rock and filled with crystals and precious stones of all kinds. They all gave off a slight magical aura, but the whole thing exerted a strong magical pressure that was hard to bear.
Carla stepped forward, placing her hand on a stone that began to sparkle, an act to which her own scar responded with another burst of magic. The room was completely empty, and everyone had given themselves over to an assiduous tour of the premises.
"This looks ancient." said the princess. She then ran her hand over a wall where strange writings were inscribed, indecipherable though they were. "It looks like ruins."
"It is, actually." Sol replied solemnly.
Carla turned around in surprise. Sol had answered so quickly and he seemed so sure of himself. Suprisingly, the princess had no knowledge of any ruins in Pinevale and given her status it was rather strange that she wasn't aware of something of such importance.
"How do you know?" She surmised, glaring at her comrade. "We've never heard of any ruins other than those from the last battle at Vallis Umbrae."
"Well..." Sol scratched his head nervously, ruffling his usually tidy mass of hair. "In Onhav, where my parents live, there's a legend going around that there are ruins of the kingdom of-"
"Hey come here!" Dala cut them off.
The student was standing in front of a huge wall with a curious pattern carved into the stone, which the group immediately set about trying to decipher. A large triangle was drawn, and inside it was possible to make out three letters: "K" at the top, 'P' at the bottom left and "E" at the bottom right. The letters were refined and engraved with great care, soiled by the dust of time.
"Kaelor." Carla ran her hand over the letter K, which lit up at her touch. "Parvana." She continued, this time making the letter P glow. "Erebus." The E was the last to glow softly.
The princess continued, letting her hand move to the next part of the design. This triangle, which brought together the names of three kingdoms, was next to a rhombus inscribed with the letter "C". Carla frowned, although it was easy enough to guess the initials of the three kingdoms in the triangle, she had no idea what the letter C stood for.
"Do you know what it could be?" Wren asked, looking at Keth, his twin.
"Another kingdom?" Carla asked.
The two brothers looked at each other and nodded "no" before restoring their gaze to the mysteriously inscribed wall. Dala stepped forward and also began to run her hand over the inscriptions.
But this time, there was no flickering, no illumination. The letters didn't light up. She ran her hand over them again, but still nothing.
"That's weird." Carla repeated the operation, and this time the letters reacted.
"I guess you need royal blood." Dala replied, giving up trying to make the letters on the wall react.
The students looked around. Clearly, there was nowhere to go, no other way or hidden door. There was nothing. Their one and only option was to turn around and find another way. As beautiful as the view was, this detour had brought them nothing.
"Sorry, I guess I made a wrong move by going this way." Dala challenged. "Let's go back."
As the third-year headed for the narrow path they'd all just come from, Carla, Wren and Keth followed, but Sol didn't move. He continued to stare at the writings carved into the rock that outlined a nation no one here knew about.
"There's another passage."
The rest of the group immediately turned back to Sol. His face was impassive, yet it was possible to discern doubt, concern and perhaps a little fear. He closed his eyes and concentrated.
The scar on his mouth lit up. Tiny particles as fine as rain danced around him, giving the impression of snow. He was lost in thought and, without really realizing it, extended his powers, then splashed the multitude of drops all over the walls around him, splashing the other five students in the process.
"Hey!" Carla grumbled, half-soaked. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the result of the spell her friend had just cast.
The mostly damp walls were dripping with water, except for one area that had remained perfectly intact. Located completely opposite the wall with the strange inscriptions, a door-like shape stood out from the rock.
"Well done! But how are we supposed to get in?" Dala asked, immediately turning around.
"That I don't know." Sol replied. "But I imagine that if the writings only react to Carla's touch only she will be able to open that door."
Carla slowly stepped forward hesitantly, her gaze mostly over the room desperately searching for something that might tell her what to do or even dissuade her from touching this kind of door.
"Wait!" Keth stopped Carla before she could do anything. "What says we're supposed to go through there? I don't think Professors Shapper and Mendoz would make us take such intricate paths right from the start of camp or even give us access to such a singular place."
All the students began to doubt. Keth was probably right, but what could stop their curiosity from getting the better of them? They all dwelt unsure whether to succumb to this growing interest in this path that led to an unknown place. Probably a mixture of interest born of the discovery of the inscriptions but also a simple appetite to discover what was so mysterious about these places.
"Let's go, after all, the teachers sent us here to find out for ourselves and deal with all kinds of situations." Dala enunciated, articulating each of her words perfectly to make sure she was heard by everyone. "You know, I think we're very lucky to have ended up here."
"Not necessarily." Galahad cut her off sharply; he had put on his prince leader aura and was looking at his elder with a cold, confident gaze. "I don't think the least of Orpheion's teachers would send us to the ruins of a place we have no knowledge of and on top of that that only reacts to Parvanian blood."
"Parvanian blood? Give it a try." Dala replied, beckoning Galahad to try his hand at the writing.
Reluctantly he stepped forward and, with a grunt, placed his hand on the scriptures, which again lit up.
"This proves my point and it's even worse. These ruins only react to any kind of royal blood." He paused for a moment, his anger rising, and told himself that he disliked this student even more and that she was a bad team leader. "You can see this place isn't normal. Something's not right and I feel like I'm the only one who really cares."
"And what's the evidence here that this is such a bad idea?"
"At what point can you imagine it's a good one?"
"Enough!" Carla cut them off and stood between the two. "I'm scared too, Galahad but I can understand Dala's curiosity. She's nearly finished her studies and I imagine that in your third year you reach a stage where you want to discover more and take on more challenges."
"Challenges… Does that justify such risk-taking?" The prince looked at them, his long hair falling to the side of his right shoulder. His face, with its infinitely fine features almost as if they'd been drawn in pencil, was hardened through his furrowed brows.
Galahad was angry, worried, hesitant, but above all, afraid. He thought of his mother for a moment and hesitated even more. Would she have been ashamed that her son was so reluctant to face a challenge that presented so much mystery? Probably so. He lowered his eyes and looked at the ground full of dust.
"Okay." He breathed reluctantly. "Let's see what's behind that door, but at the slightest worry we'll run away."
"Don't worry." Dala gave him a small smile before heading for the door. "It's time to find out what's behind that door!"
Carla had followed the rest of the conversation from a distance after her brief intervention. Her thoughts wandered to Devion and Maya. Were they all right? Were they hurt? Devion was pretty tough, but Maya was clearly a step below.
Carla and Maya were just a few days apart, both born in December, they had taken to celebrating birthdays together, and Carla, a few days older than her friend, had a protective side towards her. She knew Maya was in good hands, but she was still worried.
For Devion, there was less concern but rather curiosity and a little frustration. Without really admitting it to herself, Carla had wished, deep down, to be on the same team as the brunet and to be able to learn a little more about him.
Did he wonder if she was all right? Would he too have liked to be on the same team as her? This unavowable thought made her blush and she swallowed this torrent of thoughts as quickly as it had appeared.
"Wow." Wren snapped Carla out of her thoughts as one of the twins pushed open the hardly discernible door in the rock that she had just unlocked. "What is this place?"
Carla was the last to go through the door, following Sol, who had been totally silent since they found him. She found him a little odd, but chased away these new intrusive thoughts. She moved forward to fully enter the room that had opened up to them.
The place was nothing like the damp, dark cavern they'd been in for nearly a day now. Apart from the light-brown material, everything was different, from the perfectly designed floor with no rubble whatsoever, to the engravings and frescoes on the walls. The whole was framed by perfectly arranged stone columns tracing a path leading to a majestic stone throne.
"Oh it's so beautiful-"
A flash of light flashed across the room, cutting Dala short in her sentence. A spell had just been cast, a spell as dark as the night but as dazzling as the sun.
Dala fell to the floor, a pool of blood surrounding her body and a gaping hole in her chest.
The third-grader lay motionless, and the other members of the group were petrified at the sight of their comrade's lifeless body.