Spirit of Vengeance - 11. Ch 11: The Rites of Water

CHAPTER 11: The Rites of Water

“Are you okay?” Matty asked as we walked along with Ernie, Nathan, and all the other trainees. “You’ve been troubled ever since you returned from your trip. Did something bad happen?”

I looked up from the ground to stare ahead at our destination. It didn’t seem so long ago yet there we were once more at the mouth of Hoarfrost Caverns. The teeth-like jagged spikes that populated the entrance still smiled as dangerously as I remembered it. I knew though that instead of waiting outside those like I had before, I would be entering them this time.

As was tradition, the two sets of lower form trainees accompanied those who would take the Rites. Ernie and Nathan were there for they were one form lower than me after I was advanced. Matthew, who was two forms lower than me was also there as was required.

“I’ve just had some stuff to think about,” I said quietly. I could still remember the farewells I had with my family – with mother, father, and Little Joe. It was hard to say goodbye to them again after not seeing them for so many years. I could still see the pained expression on Little Joe’s eyes which did not at all match the smiling, happy face he had put on. My empathy let me know the truth. He was afraid, so very afraid. It must have taken all this courage to smile and wish me luck and pretend everything was okay. “I’m just a little worried about the Rites and all.”

“You’ll be fine,” Ernie said, though even his voice sounded agitated. Ernie had always been a good friend, perhaps even my best friend so I could understand why he was worried. “Just keep your head on straight and come back in one piece okay?”

“Preferably breathing,” Nathan said. Ernie gave him a glare. “Oh, if you happen to find some interesting plants in there, could you bring me back some? I hear all kinds of plants grow there.”

“Where did you hear that?” Ernie asked. “You know what, never mind. When’s he going to have the time to look for plants? He’s taking the Rites you know!”

“I’m not saying he has to look for them,” Nathan said. “I’m just saying if he happened to cross paths with some of them…”

“I swear when it’s our turn to take the Rites, it would take you a week to get out of those caves,” Ernie grumbled. “You’d probably stop at every single plant you see. The masters would probably find you half-burried in soil and ice, frozen with a crazy expression on your face.” He then proceeded to form said crazy expression, eyes crossed, tongue dangling out and all.

“Not every plant,” Nathan defended, pointedly ignoring Ernie’s expression.

“You sure you’re okay?” Matty asked comfortingly. I wondered idly if his friends in the same form did not mind that he was with us instead of them. I knew he had other friends, not as close as he was with us, but friends nonetheless.

“I’m okay, Matty, really,” I said and I did manage a smile that time.

“Your journey ends here,” Master Leveret said as he surveyed us. I remembered him saying the exact same thing the year before. “Those of you who will undergo the Rites this day shall be forever changed once you enter these caverns. Those of you who pass shall cease their status as trainees once you have returned to Malden. Make it out of these caverns alive and a new journey you shall begin as you enter the world once more to take the path of a journeyman.”

Like before, no one cheered or clapped. I did have the very strong inclination to hurl my breakfast over everyone though.

“Come,” Master Leveret said as he turned towards the cavern without waiting for us to follow.

“Take care of Matty, okay?” I told Ernie. “Make sure he doesn’t get assigned sentry duty on the borders. I don’t want to have a repeat of before.”

“Yes, yes,” Ernie said while rolling his eyes. “We’ll take care of your boy.”

“My what?” I asked with a frown while Matty blushed in a way that certainly was not from the cold.

“I think you need to go,” Nathan said. “Master Rumford’s frowning in our direction.”

“Okay,” I said and surveyed each of my closest friends. “You guys take care, alright? I’ll be back soon.”

“Make it really soon please,” Ernie said, rubbing his hands over his arms. “I don’t want to freeze out here for so long again like last year.”

* * * * * * * * * *

“Twenty-three,” Master Leveret said as he surveyed us. He was standing beside five people, two I knew to be masters not of the Academy; three were wearing healer’s garbs.

He was, of course, referring to the number of trainees that would undertake the Rites. We were deep within the Hoarfrost Caverns and it was, if anything, colder than outside. Despite the spells we had in place, several trainees were visibly shaking, myself included. “There are twenty-three of you this year. And before you, you see twenty-three paths.” He gestured behind him and sure enough there were indeed twenty-three different holes in the wall that plunged into pitch-black darkness. Some were ordinary and against the wall, some several feet in the air, and even some that were on the ground, looking like they led to bottomless pits.

“Are there only twenty-three paths, master?” Paul asked. He was the trainee who had helped me after Lance attacked me. “Seems like too much of a coincidence for there to be exactly that many trainees this year.”

“It is no coincidence,” Master Leveret said. “The paths change every year.”

“Change?” one of the other trainees I didn’t really know asked. “You mean the caves… reform?”

“Yes,” Master Leveret nodded. “Exactly. The paths every year are different and the challenge for each changes as well. No path is ever the same. Each of you will face something different, something that will match you and challenge you accordingly. Some paths will intersect and you may find yourselves with others. Whether or not you work together is up to you. It is all part of your test.”

“And who will be testing us, master?” Paul asked.

“Not I,” Master Leveret replied, “nor any Master from Malden. The caves themselves will test you. Trust your instincts. There is but one goal and that is to reach the other end where the Master of the Academy is waiting along with your other instructors. Once you have reached that end, you will have passed.”

“That’s it?” Lance asked in a voice etched with disbelief and possibly a little disgust. “The whole Rites thing is just a maze. We just have to get through to the other side?”

Master Rumford stared at him for a long time before responding. “Yes. But you will have no food, no water, not even your weapons. Only your mind, your body, your magic, and the minimal clothing you have on you. You will find more than lengthy tunnels in these caves. There are things that live here...”

As though something sensed his words, a hollow sound echoed from all the caves behind him. It sounded like a stomach that was growling… and hungry.

“What… was that?” Paul asked with wide eyes. Nearly everyone had taken a step back from the caves, including Lance.

“Your test,” Master Leveret said and gestured towards the caves. “One person to one entrance. Once you’ve entered, the path will seal and the only way out will be forward.”

Each of us trainees was reluctant to be the first to pick a cave. Eventually, Paul took a deep breath and puffed his chest out as he chose one of the nearest cave entrances. After that, there was a flurry to get whichever entrances seemed less threatening. There was much grumbling especially from those who got the paths that looked like bottomless pits. I had gotten one of the paths that opened up several floors in the air.

“You have three days,” Master Leveret shouted behind us. “Three days to make it out of these caves before we leave. Beyond that, you are on your own.”

We all nodded at him. I steeled my resolve to walk into the pitch-black darkness of the cave. I heard crackling from behind as ice slowly encompassed the cave entrance forming a thick wall that looked as solid as rock. Within seconds, all the light had been quenched and I could see nothing at all.

I controlled the fear that was slowly growing within me. I recalled Magister Sigmus’ lessons about protecting oneself from the emotions of others by creating blocks to their emotions. Calm was required to achieve that level of control and I put that training into action then. Surprisingly, I felt calmer. It was like I was blocking my own fear from my mind.

I gathered the water in the air and called them forth into my hand. They formed an orb of water which I made glow with a phosphorescent light. The dark path was filled with the blue tint of water that glowed with magic.

I moved forward.

The path was uneven and eerily quiet. I could not hear anything behind me. Even my footsteps sounded muffled on the cold floor. I don’t know where the path led but it seemed to be going up into to mountain. The path turned every now and then, almost endlessly that I was getting tired from the monotony of it.

The first decision for me came after what must have been several hours. The path that had been solitary split into a fork. The path to the right led up while the path to the left led down.

“Which way?” I asked. At first, it felt shameful to talk to myself but after several hours of not hearing anything or anyone, I figured I needed it to calm myself and maintain my sanity. I found that talking even just to myself actually helped me think things more clearly. “One path leads up. The other masters could be waiting at the peak of the mountain. But that would be really far from wherever we will exit afterwards. It might make more sense if I head down. But if they were waiting for me up in the mountain, it would take a long time to backtrack.”

I sighed to myself. “No. Both paths right now are the same. I don’t know anything for sure so I might as well go with whichever feels right. Wait. Feel. Feelings. I can use my empathy to find my way! I can open up the blocks to let me know where uncle is. Of course!”

I let the blocks loosen up a bit and true enough emotion began pouring in. I could sense some of the other trainees though not exactly which direction. I knew someone was feeling annoyed for some reason but another one had emotions that were glowing much brighter than the other.

He was afraid. I focused and I saw Paul. He was afraid and tired. It felt like he was running, running from something that was chasing him.

And that’s when I heard the growl.

“Impossible,” I said as I stood there in the tiny space illuminated by the glowing orb of water in my hand. “There was nothing but a straight path behind me. I didn’t see anything. There couldn’t be anything behind me now, right?” I laughed nervously as I turned around.

And the thing was staring at me. The beast. The creature that had attacked Lance the year before. His jagged teeth glowed menacingly in the light of my orb.

“Oh,” I said and it charged.

I ran to the right, to the path that led up. I gathered all the water I could from the air to coalesce them and form a block behind me. The path behind me solidified into solid ice imbued with magic blocking the creature from my path.

I took a breath of relief just before I heard the thing roar. The sound of thudding came after and it sounded like he was trying to break through the barrier. The wall shook and cracks slowly started appearing in the ice.

“Run you fool,” I said as I started running. I didn’t bother checking if it was right behind me but I just ran as fast as I could, creating more and more barriers in my wake hoping it would slow the thing down.

When I finally got tired, I stopped. With no sense of time or location, I had no idea how long I had run or how far I had gone. With the way magic strengthened my body though, I would not have been surprised if I managed to go for quite a distance. I had experienced something similar the year before of course when we escorted those who were going to take the Rites. The difference was that I was sitting most of the time before. With all the running, I wasn’t sure how I was going to last especially without food or water. I was already getting hungry. It couldn’t have been that long though. Yet somehow, it felt like I hadn’t eaten in a day.

The wall I was leaning on suddenly started crumbling. I stood back preparing myself for an attack from the beast when the wall suddenly gave way to light. A path had opened before me.

I walked through it since I did not really know where else to go. It opened up to a large cavern with holes in the ceiling letting in light. It was a refreshing sight from the cramped spaces of the tunnel. I was at the top of a cliff where there seemed to be no path down. I looked back and the path had sealed itself so there was no way back.

I looked over the edge. The cliff was really high. Jagged spikes of ice hung from the ceiling and I watched them warily, worried they might fall at any moment. I looked down again and saw a path below that ended in two caves, one on each end of the short path. Each side of the path was covered in icicles that spiked upwards as though to meet those that were coming down from the ceiling.

I listened carefully to the sound of something approaching. It sounded like it was coming from one of the caves below. Moments later, I saw Paul running out of the cave entrance like a madman. Right behind him was the beast that had chased me.

Paul was running as fast as the beast which would not have been possible without magic. He jumped off the cave wall and ricocheted just as the beast pounced on where he was moments before. Paul kicked at a rock formation with his bare feet and a large piece broke off. It was easily bigger than him yet he lifted it as though it was nothing and swung it heavily on the creature. The rock shattered into a thousand pieces as the creature was flung back with the debris. It looked stunned for a moment before it stood up again and growled as if it just got angrier.

“Why won’t you die?!” Paul yelled angrily.

“The head!” I yelled. Paul looked up, distracted by my voice and almost got shredded by the beast as it jumped towards him. He managed to jump up high and dodge it though.

“What?” he yelled back at me.

“You have to destroy its head!” I shouted. “Pierce it with a spike or something!”

Paul nodded not even bothering to ask me how I knew. Water swirled around his left hand as a jagged dagger made of ice formed between his fingers. He waited for the beast as it charged him. He sidestepped at the last moment and turned so fast as he plunged the jagged ice deep into the back of the creature’s skull. The creature kept moving forward, carried by its momentum, but finally rolled over on the ground and remained still.

Paul watched it carefully for a few moments, the front of his mouth misting from his heavy breathing. The beast started to melt until nothing was left but a pile of water that was slowly starting to freeze. Paul looked up at me and smiled. “Thanks Sam!” he yelled out.

I smiled back at him and was about to say he was welcome. Instead though, my mouth released a scream as something bit into my leg and yanked me back so fast my arms scrapped across the floor as I was hurled against the wall.

“Sam!” I heard Paul yell a second before the beast before me roared. How could that be? Paul just killed it. Was this a different one? Was this the one chasing me? It looked exactly the same as the one that had just melted.

I tried to stand up but my leg injury was really bad. I could see copious amounts of blood leaking through the holes the creature bit into my flesh. The creature turned, momentarily distracted by Paul’s shout from below but I knew it would turn back to me again soon.

As I lied there on the floor, I saw no other alternative than what was visible high in the air. I gathered magic and shattered the part connecting the huge spikes of ice to the ceiling. Large chunks fell from the air. At first the creature was able to dodge the falling ice but then a particularly large one impaled him through his body and it released a strangle roar before collapsing on the ground.

“Sam!” Paul shouted again from below as more ice started falling from the ceiling. It seemed like I had used too much magic and the whole cavern was collapsing in on itself.

“Run, Paul!” I shouted and hugged the wall trying to get away from the falling debris. “Save yourself!”

I screamed as a large block off ice cascaded and fell over me. Fortunately, it was large enough that it leaned against the wall before managing to crush me. More debris must have been falling on it though as cracks quickly spread across its surface indicating it was about to shatter and bury me in ice. I thought of Little Joe and how I had promised him I would be safe and that I would return.

The wall behind me crumbled and I knew I was done for. The wall did not collapse on me though. Instead it opened up into a cave, a new path I could take to escape. I crawled into it barely able to move from all the pain. The caverns finally collapsed in on itself and the way to it was completely blocked by fallen ice.

I couldn’t hear Paul anymore, not that I was trying to at that point. The pain in my leg was excruciating and I could barely muster the simple spell I used to light up the little cave.

That creature had pierced three holes into my leg, all of which were bleeding severely. Despite my efforts to strengthen my body from the trauma, it was starting to become too much as my limbs shook as though they were about to surrender. I leaned back against the wall, my whole body feeling cold as though I was slowly leaving it behind. It was like something else was taking over my body.

And then a memory just seemed to jump right at me as I sat there in pain. It was a week after I had first arrived at Malden. I was unhappy. I missed Little Joe already. None of the other students there were nice. They seemed to think I was like my uncle – strict, mean, and unfair. I didn’t even really know my uncle. But if all those other students thought that of him, then I didn’t really want to know him at all. I just wanted to go home.

“Why?” my uncle asked me when I told him I wanted to leave.

“I don’t fit in here,” I told him, my head bowed down. “The other trainees don’t like me. And I miss home already. I want to go home.” Tears started making their way down my cheeks.

“If you want to, you can,” my uncle said. I looked up at him in surprise. I did not think he would agree so easily. “Know this though, you know about the darkness we are here to fight. As a Water Mage, you must feel it. Our kind is most sensitive to their movements. You know in your heart that something is coming for all of us. For me, for you, for your brother, your mother and your father. If you return home now, what can you do when they come for you? Nothing. That is the simple answer. There is nothing you can do to protect them. Only by joining us, by fighting against the darkness can you keep them safe. This way of life is the only way you can protect them when the time comes for you to do so.”

“Little Joe,” I whispered as my thoughts returned to my predicament in that cave. “I accepted this because I knew some day I would need to protect you. I knew there was nothing I could do if I returned home and stayed with you. I’m sorry I was away for many years but I know that some day it will all be worth it. Once I am good. Once I am a Master of Water. I will come home. I will protect you from the darkness that is coming.

“I’m not going to give up now. I didn’t lose all those years so that I could die alone in this cave,” I gathered magic and bit down on my lips as magic worked into my leg. I felt water clash against blood as ice formed where bones were broken. I could feel the skin patch as the flesh was replaced by the cold, numbing the pain and stemming the blood flow. My scream of pain echoed along the narrow cave.

“That will do,” I said shakily after several minutes. The wound was far from healed. But it was plugged. There was a very real chance I would lose the leg if I didn’t see a healer soon which was why I wasted no time to stand. I could not lean on the leg so I formed a walking stick made of ice. It was cold to the touch but it helped numb out the nausea that was threatening to overwhelm me. It was then that I understood the true strength of Water Magic. In many ways, I should have been dead. My body should not have been able to survive what it had undergone yet there I was limping to the end.

It didn’t take long before I reached another cavern. This one was far larger. It could have easily encompassed all of Malden. The mouth of the cave I came from ended at a bridge that looked like it was made of solid ice. I could hear but not see a rushing river down below to a seemingly endless darkness.

“What now?” I asked rhetorically. I looked around trying to see if some creature was waiting for me in the shadow. However, the cavern was too large for the light in my hand to pierce.

When I could see no other alternative but to move forward, I did. The bridge was slightly slippery being made of pure ice and all. However it did seem sturdy as I walked across it. The staff of ice I made helped a lot in balancing across. I was about halfway to the end when I heard something move behind me. I turned back dreading another one of those creatures appearing but instead a person came out from the same cave I did.

“Lance?” I asked as I saw him.

His eyes narrowed at me and his mouth etched itself into a scowl as he stared at me from across the bridge. He also had a glowing ball of water floating in his hands. He looked around at the massive cavern and then looked at me. For some reason, he smiled. It gave me chills that had nothing to do with the cold.

“No one’s here to save you now,” he said as the ball in his hands changed shape, gathering more water from the air until a glowing sword of ice was resting in his hand.

“Wh-what do you mean?” I asked as I took a step back.

He moved forward, still smiling. “You think I’d let you get away after all the trouble you have given me? The Lady has truly blessed me by giving this one chance to get my revenge on you. Perhaps this is my test. Perhaps you are my test.”

“Lance, what are you doing?” I asked as I took a few more steps back. I knew that with my injured leg there was no way I could outrun him. He didn’t even look tired or injured. If there was a fight, I would obviously lose.

“What a shame it would be if you fell from up here,” Lance said as he walked up to me. “Such a shame indeed. They might never find your body no matter how hard they tried.” He scraped the glowing sword across the bridge as though testing how strong it was. The surface of the bridge cracked where it connected with the blade. “What a horrible accident that would be.”

“You can’t be serious,” I said as I stepped back more. “Lance, you’re talking about murder.”

He tilted his head to the side as though he was thinking. “It’s not murder if no one ever finds out.” And then he charged.

He swung the sword high over his head as he brought it down to me. I tried to parry it with my staff but he was clearly stronger as the staff I used broke. My arm almost got sliced off but I lost balance just enough that his swing missed. He turned quickly though and launched a kick right at my chest knocking me back several feet into the air. I managed to get a hold on some uneven parts of the bridge just in time before I fell over the edge.

“Come on,” he sneered. “You’re not even giving me a challenge! What’s with your leg anyway? I haven’t seen anything in these caves but ice.”

He swung at me but I managed to turn in time for his hit to miss. It pierced the bridge though, causing it to crack.

“Lance, stop!” I yelled.

“Not until you’re dead,” he screamed as he speared the sword straight to my chest.

The ice beneath his feet shook and his aim changed piercing instead the bridge. The sword cracked and the magic holding it together was released into the air causing an explosion across the ice. The bridge swayed and began falling into the darkness. I slipped as the part I was leaning on fell away. I managed to fold an arm around a stable part as the bridge fell away in large chunks and my feet dangled in the air.

Lance managed to grab onto a part of the bridge just an arm’s length beneath me. “I’m slipping,” he said, his voice in a panic. His hands were trying to grab onto any part he could but there was nothing to hold onto. “Help me! Don’t let me fall.”

I looked at him, his eyes wide with fear. There was a possibility he might survive the fall into the water. Our magic could protect us from that. But if there were jagged or solid parts where he fell, the chances of living were very low.

“You tried to kill me,” I said.

“I’m sorry,” he said frantically. “Don’t let me die. Please, don’t!”

I hesitated only for a moment just enough that’s Lance’s grip fell away. I reached out with a hand and managed to grab his just in time to keep him from falling. The strain on my arm brought on by his extra weight challenged the pain that was coming from my leg and magic was the only thing keeping both of us from falling.

I pulled him up, despite the pain in my entire body. With my help, he managed to grab a hold onto the top part of the bridge and he was able to lift himself over it.

“Now, help me,” I said once he was on his feet again. He was looking down on me. There was very little light left except from fragments of his glowing sword that were scattered around us, but even the magic giving it a glow was waning. “Lance?”

“You saved me,” he said quietly.

“I did,” I said. “Now help me get up. I can feel the ice breaking.”

“You saved me,” he said again, a little louder, “so I won’t kill you.”

“Okay,” I said tentatively. “That’s good and all but right now you need to help me up.”

“I won’t kill you,” he said again. “But you better hope you do die when you fall because if I ever see you again, I will kill you.”

“What?” I asked. “Lance, I can’t get up here by myself! You have to help me.”

He turned around without another word. He conjured an orb of water in his hands which caused his shadow to cover me as he walked away.

“Lance!” I yelled as the ice cracked. My grip loosened and the rest of the bridge fell away, jagged ice flying all around me as I fell into darkness.

NEXT CHAPTER: Ch 12: The Other World
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