The closer we get to the citadel, the less real the world seems to get. I don’t have any other way of putting it. They say that reality, the way we see it, is a recent event. Most of our history happened in a time where there were no rules, nothing to unify the bits of the universe. Now, they say, you wouldn’t know that unless you were a mage.
I didn’t appreciate that until I left the citadel. Coming back, I’m amazed at how easy it is to take the world for granted, especially if you don’t see the way it really moves. I thought that things stayed how they were in the Citadel, but I can’t help but feel I was wrong.
It could just be the increasing number of Illusions that’s making me feel this way. My mother is a powerful illusionist, you would think I’d be able to spot one instantly. But one side effect of being completely unable to cast a spell is that I’m almost completely unable to resist spells. I keep putting up shields, but most aren’t designed to absorb the full impact of spells. I’m not the only one having issues. Johnathon and Zac seem to be alright, but Julia, Rachel and Michael seem to be flagging.
There’s nothing to do but remember how the world should work. Up is up, down is down, the grass is green, and the sky is blue. That only goes so far when you’re dealing with a mage who knows that the sky can also be cloudy and that no field is ever perfectly grassy. The rapid shifts are difficult to manage. It doesn’t help that I don’t really remember what the outside of the Citadel looks like. I ran through this place as fast as I could when I left.
“You shouldn’t be here. You need to leave now.”
Why does she keep trying to scare us away? She won’t have enough power to stop us once we get there at this rate. Is she scared that she can’t stop us? I don’t know, and honestly, I don’t care. I’m tired and I just want to get this over with.
“Stop it. Stop trying to hurt us. Stop trying to convince us to leave you alone. I know you’re weak. I know you’re scared. But I don’t care. I’m tired of having to pretend you’re a good person. I don’t want to be on the run my whole life. Either skip to the part where we fight you or kill us off and be done with it.”
Sometimes I forget that the enchantress is watching us. She’s not much of a fighter, but diss her and you’ll regret it instantly.
I flip through the Big Book of Enchantments to my strongest shield spell. I just barely get the spell up in time. Unfortunately, I forgot I was traveling with five other people, and when I look around, there’s nobody but me.
I never wanted to fight the enchantress. Until now I’ve spent my life avoiding her. But now, I have to stop her. Even if I don’t know these people all that well, even If I know they don’t like me at all, this isn’t okay. Even if I can’t stop her, I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t try.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” I say, not sure if she’s even listening. “But it’s nice to know I’m allowed to try and stop you.”
No comments:
Post a Comment