Path of Dragons

Book 6: Chapter 69: Academy Arcana

Elijah was content.

Part of it was the setting, which was a stretch of ancient forest that radiated vitality and history. It reminded him of the Redwood Forest back in California, though with far larger trees and alien wildlife. In any case, the region left him feeling satisfied in a way he couldn’t quite articulate.

More impactful on his mood was Sadie’s demeanor. Since progressing to the next step of cultivation of her Mind, she’d been an entirely different version of herself. Sure, she was still the same person, but she actually smiled now. Not often, but even once or twice was a vast improvement. She no longer shunned company, and she wasn’t giving him the silent treatment anymore.

And most of all, she didn’t look at him like he was a steaming pile of trash.

Until recently, he hadn’t even realized how much that had affected him. But with the benefit of hindsight, he could now see the obvious. For months, her visible reaction to his presence had soured his mood. Perhaps that was even one of the reasons he’d so often taken to exploring the wilderness.

And finally, his mood had been buoyed by the fact that they only had one challenge to go before the completion of the Trial. Elijah didn’t just miss his grove. He missed Earth itself. He missed Carmen and Miguel and everyone else in Ironshore. He missed traveling around and meeting new people while experiencing different cultures. That had been sorely missing during the Trial, and no amount of exploration could fill that gap.

But before he could go back, he needed to conquer the last Trial. The guide explaining the nature of the Trial of Primacy had said there were ten, but the final challenge had yet to be found. And Explorers had scoured every inch of the continent, so they’d all just given up on looking for the challenge associated with the Abyss.

Elijah was fine with that, though. As much as he wanted to cater to his inner completionist, it was probably better that the tenth site remained hidden. So long as it did, no one else would have a hope of passing him on the Primacy Rankings, which meant that he would gain the largest rewards.

Even if one of his teammates passed him – which was unlikely, based on the last time he’d checked the points total – it would be fine.

“Just happy to walk beside my surly friend,” he answered with a grin.

“I ain’t surly.”

“Sure you’re not, bud,” Elijah said.

Kurik just grunted in response, and they continued on. Dat had taken scouting duties for the day, so Elijah didn’t have any responsibilities except to keep a lookout for trouble. Nothing had attacked them since entering the ancient forest, so he didn’t think that would change anytime soon. There weren’t even any wraiths around.

Gradually, they completed the last leg of their journey, and when the site of the final challenge came into view, Elijah couldn’t help but let out a slight gasp.

“Does that look like a college campus to anyone else?” he asked, flanked by the other members of his group. “Except that huge tower in the middle, of course. I don’t think anywhere on Earth has anything like that.”

“I’m more worried about the other side,” Ron remarked.

From their perch on a slight rise, they could see the entire city stretched out before them. However, a third of it had been cut off by the same translucent dome of ethera Elijah had witnessed from the low reaches of space. There was nothing they could see on the other side, but with what he’d witnessed before, he knew those abyssal giants couldn’t be that far. Otherwise, the area on the other side of that barrier was monochromatic, populated by slightly blurry shapes that made it look like a black-and-white impressionist painting.

The shield stretched across the horizon as far as Elijah could see, though he could barely perceive a slight curve that confirmed it’s circular, dome-like nature.

“I don’t think anything can get through,” Elijah said.

“Until the bubble pops, bro,” Dat added.

“It hasn’t yet,” Sadie pointed out.

Kurik countered, “Yet. That word ain’t very comforting.”

Elijah understood the dwarf’s unease, because he felt something similar. Indeed, it was probably worse for him because he was the only member of the group to have truly seen what was on the other side. Those giant monsters weren’t just terrifying. They defied logic or description, both in size and form. Hopefully, the others wouldn’t be forced to see what he had seen. Otherwise, their discomfort would turn to terror in a second.

With that shield – or rather, the implications of why it had been erected – looming over everything, it was difficult to focus on the city itself. However, what Elijah saw supported the comparison to a college campus. The form itself wasn’t that similar. The buildings followed the same alien architectural standards with which Elijah had become familiar. He’d seen the same in dozens of ruined structures all across the continent. Yet, it had the right aura.

Or maybe that was the result of the name of the challenge, which was one of the few things they knew about the place. According to the Explorer who’d discovered it, the place was called Academy Arcana, and upon first impression, it certainly seemed to live up to that moniker.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Predominantly, the buildings had been built from white stone, but there were plenty of red accents that gave it a uniform look. Otherwise, the place was sprawling, spanning many miles in every direction. If it had been something similar to a university, it was many times larger than any place of learning hosted by Earth.

“How many people do you think lived and worked here?” Elijah asked.

“Tens of thousands, at least,” Sadie answered. “Maybe more, depending on the population density.”

“Seems spread out,” Ron said. “And the buildings are mostly only a couple of stories tall.”

“Lots of trees,” Dat pointed out. “And fountains.”

Even in a state of disrepair – from afar, it seemed entirely abandoned – the academy was a beautiful place. “Do we know anything about this place?” Elijah asked.

“We all read the same report,” Sadie answered. “The Explorer went in, but she didn’t see anything.”

“Bad feelings, bro.”

“And she was frightened,” Sadie amended.

“That wasn’t what the report said,” Elijah countered. “Pervasive feelings of unease.”

“That sounds like another way to say she was afraid,” Ron agreed with Sadie.

“She was right to be scared,” Kurik added. “With that loomin’ over everything…”

He didn’t need to specify what he meant. The shield – or rather, what was on the other side – practically radiated mysterious menace. One would have to be insane not to be afraid of such a thing.

“Anyway, she ran,” Elijah stated. “As far as I know, we’re the first in. If anybody else has tried, they didn’t tell anyone about it. So, we’re going in mostly blind. Same strategy as always?”

“Seems appropriate,” Sadie responded. The rest of the group agreed. So, they advanced as a party, but when they reached the edge of the sprawling campus, everyone but Dat and Elijah made camp. Meanwhile, the pair set out to explore the area.

After shifting into the Shape of Venom and adopting the Guise of the Unseen, Elijah entered. After only a few steps, he felt the sense of unease described by the Explorer. The difference was that he recognized it for what it was. After all, he’d felt something similar within the challenge of Ignis, when the ashassins had stalked him.

He let Guise of the Unseen fall away, then shifted back into his human form. The feeling of being watched didn’t abate, but it didn’t intensify, either. The implications were clear. Stealth wasn’t going to be very effective within the academy grounds.

Dat appeared beside him only a few moments later, confirming Elijah’s suspicions. “I don’t know what’s watching us, but we’re definitely being observed,” the Witch Hunter stated, his eyes darting around. Even only a few steps within the sprawling campus, there were plenty of places to hide. “Go back and get the others?”

“Probably smart.”

Upon their return, Elijah saw that the others had barely progressed in setting up the camp. Kurik asked, “Back so soon? Let me guess – monsters that see through stealth?”

Elijah shrugged. “Might be some kind of detection enchantment,” he answered. “But something in there’s watching us. We think it’s best if we stick together.”

They all agreed, then packed up the pieces of the camp they’d already deployed. After that, they adopted the same formation they normally used. Sadie in the front, Elijah in the back, with the others in between. They advanced, everyone alert for any potential dangers.

At first, there was nothing, but the sense that they were being watched steadily intensified until Elijah felt like there were thousands of spectators following his every move. That, coupled with the looming presence of the Abyss on the other side of the shield, left Elijah tense and jumpy.

Then, at last, they crossed the invisible threshold of the challenge, initiating the expected notification:

The moment the notification flashed before Elijah’s inner eye, he heard a clanking sound coming from a nearby alley. More distressing was what he felt via One with Nature – the presence of a dozen creatures. They weren’t alive, though. He knew that the moment he sensed them, and when the first one came into view only a second later, that notion was confirmed.

It was a moving suit of armor, though of alien design. Four-armed and two-legged, just like a ka’alaki, it moved with an unhurried but purposeful gait. In each hand was a wickedly curved sword, and the armor itself featured gracefully curved ridges that looked like fins. The helmet followed the same theme, with a large crest running down the center like a mohawk that extended down its back.

A second exited the alley a moment later. Then a third came. Elijah stopped counting by the fifth, because another set had suddenly appeared in the opposite alley. And another after that a hundred feet down the street.

“This isn’t good,” he muttered. “Not good at all.”

The most concerning thing Elijah felt wasn’t that each set of armor lacked a person to motivate it. Instead, he was far more interested in the ethera within. It was so dense that it was nearly solid. Normally, ethereal density translated to power, and if that remained the case, these things were incredibly strong.

Everyone reacted at the same time. Sadie stepped forward, and her personal shield bloomed into being. At the same time, Dat and Kurik raised their weapons, ready to let loose the second Sadie gave the order. Finally, Elijah and Ron readied their healing spells. They had no idea how much damage these suits of armor could inflict, so they resolved that it was better to overheal than to go in the opposite direction.

It was a good thing, too, because when Sadie met the first creature, its swords sliced through her shield like it wasn’t even there. Fortunately, her armor held up against the cutting edge, though it was incapable of stopping the momentum of the blade. With a loud wrenching sound, the armor protecting her upper arm crumpled, and Elijah felt certain that the bone broke under the impact.

But she was already under the effect of Soothe, and Ron’s powerful healing spell landed a second later, mending the damage. She bore the pain stoically, returning the thing’s attack with one of her own. Her sword clanged against its armor, denting it with a single blow. However, the creature paid the damage no mind, already aiming one of its other swords in her direction.

How Sadie managed to parry the attack, Elijah couldn’t tell. But she slapped the blade aside, then immediately switched directions to do the same to the next. “Fire!” she shouted.

And everyone complied.

A stream of glowing bolts rocketed from Dat’s crossbow, with Kurik’s arrows not far behind. At the same time, Elijah lashed out with Storm’s Fury, channeling it through his Feral Spire to ensure he wouldn’t miss. The barrage of attacks slammed into the suit of armor with enough force to send it staggering backward.

But when the dust settled, it was entirely unharmed.

Indeed, from what Elijah felt within that suit, it had grown stronger. That supposition was borne out when it attacked Sadie much more quickly than before.

“Don’t use magic!” he shouted. “We need to take it apart with physical attacks!”

Even as the words left his mouth, the rest of the suits of armor converged on their location. As Elijah shifted into his Shape of the Guardian, he couldn’t help but wonder if they might not have finally bitten off more than they could chew.