Guess who's back! Lol. CupCake here! It's been over a year since I finished my first fanfic, but I'm finally back in the game! This one is actually one I've had in the works for a really long time. I finally posted it over on AO3 the other day, but it's kinda barren over there, so I'm planning to post on both sites. Well, assuming I get readers. XD
Info on the Story:
This story features original characters as the main characters, but there are familiar faces, of course!
Also, very important, as the title suggests, this is my version of the third story arc. Right now only Polaris is out, so the stories aren't going to be the same. Oh, and this does reference the previous arcs (Malistaire and Morganthe) often. That's not to say that this work can't be read without knowing what has happened, but the plot, especially certain parts, may not make sense. Maybe I could treat it like a book sequel where I go more in depth on what happened when I reference things. Let me know what you guys think to make it easier for you to read.
My ships in this (because they're important!) are Destiny/Tristan and Thea/Valkoor. You won't really be seeing much of the boys this chapter. They're in a bit of a sticky situation, I'm afraid. Hehe. You'll understand if you decide to read. Which I'll let you do now. See you on the other side!
Destiny Stormhaven was, by most standards, having a downright crappy day even before her best friend went missing. Had she known waking up this particular morning that she was going to be faced with a mass of young wizards all asking a million different things, a rather cruel professor with far too much ambition, and a distress call sent to her from a world she'd never even heard of, perhaps she would have opted to stay in bed a few hours longer.
Unfortunately for the exalted diviner, she had no such luck, and wound up hauling herself out of the comforts of her bed the same as she did every other morning as the sun peaked over the horizon, and made her way from her underwater palace to the spiral door that stood out against the dark, infinite backdrop of endless murky waters.
Ravenwood was already bustling with an array of wizards when Destiny made her way from Bartleby's hidden door to the alcoves in the Wizard City library. Harold, the head librarian, barely even looked up as she stepped into the silent building from off the loud, bustling streets.
"Talk about chaos. Seriously, every spring there's more and more of them." Destiny's voice echoed through the empty halls.
From his spot near the corner, Boris Tallstaff just shrugged. "You've said that every spring for the past four years. It's just because this week is orientation. They'll have settled in before too long."
Destiny narrowed her eyes at him. "And you've been saying that exact same line for even longer, I'm sure," she retorted, then grumbled, "They're always giddy and loud when they're young."
"You were young once, too."
"I was never anything like they are."
Boris wisely chose not to respond to the comment. He could still distinctly remember the first day he had met Destiny Stormhaven, the young girl who would one day defeat one of the greatest threats against the spiral. Back then she was a bubbly child, eager to learn and do whatever it took to become the greatest diviner to emerge from Ravenwood. She had succeeded after many years of training, but it hadn't come without a cost.
Destiny peered down the long halls that branched off from the entrance. Each wall was lined from floor to ceiling with shelves that housed the hundreds of thousands of books making up nearly all of the knowledge known to Wizard City.
"Have you seen Thea this morning?" Destiny stepped away from the last arch that led into the halls of knowledge.
Boris shook his head. "No, not today. It did seem strange, but since Professor Balestrom was looking for you yesterday, I figured that Professor Wu probably had something for her."
Her head snapped towards him. "What about Balestrom looking for me?"
Boris' brows knitted together. "You didn't hear? He's been trying to track you down all weekend. I take it he never succeeded."
"Apparently." Destiny ran a hand through her long, silky blonde hair. "I guess I should go see what he wants before he croaks himself to death."
The male diviner chuckled before agreeing, "It would probably be for the best if you touched base with him."
She held back an eye roll. "Right. If Thea does show up here later, let her know I'm looking for her, okay?"
Boris gave her a nod, and Destiny left him and Harold, who remained silent throughout the interaction, in the exact manner she found them.
Professor Halston Balestrom was an optimist, and a foolish one at that, according to Destiny's calculations. When she'd pushed aside the unnecessarily large and heavy doors to the school of storm, she was welcomed by at least forty curious faces. As usual, though, the curiosity turned to recognition, and a wave of low whispers followed.
"Destiny Stormhaven!" At the front of the room, from his perch upon the desk, Balestrom beamed at her. "I take it my call has finally reached you."
"Yes, Boris Tallstaff informed me that you were trying to reach me over the weekend," Destiny said, allowing herself to slip into the polite persona she used whenever she was trying to come across as the mature, level-headed woman many people assumed she was. "Sorry for the timing. Should I swing by later?"
"No need for any of that. Your timing is impeccable! I'd been hoping you might have some free time in your schedule to welcome our new students to Ravenwood and show them around the city. Maybe even give them a few pointers on how to become better diviners."
Destiny had to force herself not to make any outward gestures of irritation or disgust. This was by far the worst task Balestrom had ever conjured up for her, and there had been some pretty terrible ones in the past.
Forcing a smile, she asked, "Are you sure, Professor? I am still a student here. Perhaps one of the older, more experienced-"
"Nonsense! Don't sell yourself short, Stormhaven. Your experience surpasses any wizard I've trained in the past century!"
The statement was undeniably accurate, and Destiny was all too aware of it. As were the mass of students, who nudged each other and whispered excitedly amongst themselves.
"Come up here, and allow me to give you a proper introduction."
Destiny restrained from dragging her feet as she stepped up the stairs and stood beside Balestrom in front of his desk. This was going to be entirely unnecessary, and everyone in the room knew it.
"Class, allow me to humbly introduce my most esteemed student: Destiny Stormhaven. She is in her final year here at Ravenwood–not that there's much left for me to teach her. As many of you, I'm sure, are already aware, she is also to thank for defending the spiral against a certain dark threat that arose last year. I doubt most of you would be here with us today were it not for her, so treat her with as much respect as you would myself or any of the other staff members."
Some of the students clapped while others continued to whisper or gape at her. Destiny had been informed before that her actual presence was far more powerful than any of the paintings or news articles could portray, but this was outright ridiculous. It had been nearly twelve months since the incident was resolved. Surely people had better, more important things to do with their time than be in awe at something that wasn't even still an issue.
"Um... Miss Stormhaven?" In the front row, one of the young girls tentatively rose her hand, cheeks ablaze and a starstruck grin on her face.
"It's just Destiny."
The girl ducked her head, but lifted it again to meet the intense, expecting eyes that were awaiting a question. "You're one of the only two students of Ravenwood to learn shadow magic. I've just always wondered... What's it like?"
Destiny stiffened. She'd been asked similar questions before regarding shadow magic. Forcing a stiff smile to her lips, she gave the same short, trained response she always did. "Like sacrificing yourself to the darkness."
Everyone in the room seemed to have held their breath after her words. Destiny wasn't one to sugar coat things, and even that had been her way of putting mildly. Nobody would ever be able to understand the true affect shadow magic had on a person. There was no point trying to explain something so complex and terrifying to such young, innocent wizards.
From the podium, Balestrom cleared his amphibian throat, the noise coming out as more of a ribbit than a cough. "Well, Wizard City is quiet a large place. You'd all best be getting to it if you hope to be back before move-in starts. Meet me back here when you're finished touring the City. Have fun everyone!" Then, in a poof of smoke, he was gone. Everyone but Destiny looked around, then their eyes landed on the single diviner left standing, waiting for her lead.
Destiny surpassed another groan. "Alright, let's get moving. Like the professor said, Wizard City is a big place." She couldn't help but smirk as she said, "Try not to get lost... or fall off the edge." Then, ignoring the alarmed murmurs, she strut down the rows of desks and threw the door open, allowing the light from between Bartleby's branches to seep into the room.
The headmaster's office was suspiciously quiet for the first day of orientation. Only the sound of the door opening could be heard. Everything was in it's place. Books on the floor. Crystal ball sitting still on its perch. Even the candles were lit, emitting a soft glow that was negligible with the rays of sun streaming through the old, dusty windows.
Just inside the door, eyes of a young wizard scrutinized the room. "Headmaster." Out of sight, old, wrinkled lids open and a single striking, azure orb gazed upon the far wall of the room. "You summoned me..." The question went unspoken.
"Close the door, Ms. Everheart."
Without hesitation, the girl rested a hand on the handle and silently latched the door. Whatever Merle Ambrose had called her here for, it wasn't something for the public ears that listened eagerly just beyond the entrance of the gate.
"What's happened?" Her voice was low, as if anticipating the unpleasant news. A moment of silence followed, escalating the girl's concern. "Ambrose," she began, the sound of her footsteps padding through the room. "It's orientation day. You called me down here for a reason."
Finally, the velvet chair that sat behind the grand mahogany desk swiveled to reveal the man sitting in it. Merle Ambrose was much older than most wizards. His long beard and thick brows were white as snow. A tall nose separated one electric blue eye from the monocle that covered its counterpart. Despite the peculiar purple robes, there was an unmistakably aura of wisdom about him that commanded attention and respect.
"I need you to do something for me. A quest, if you will."
"A quest? What happened?"
"Before I tell you anything, I must ask you to promise me that you will not repeat any of what I'm about to tell you to anyone. Not even Ms. Stormhaven."
At this, the girl immediately turned defensive. "What could you possibly have here that I can't share with her? Destiny is my best friend and partner. We're a package deal, and you know it. You can't possibly ask me something like that."
"It's for her own safety, as well as yours."
"Any quest you send me on, I'm better with my partner than without her." She was already turning to go. "Unless you change your mind, don't bother trying to get my help."
She was halfway across the room when her name sounded across the distance.
"Thea Everheart."
The red-head froze. Thea wasn't a defiant girl by any stretch of the imagination, despite all the time she spend with her rebellious, hot-headed partner. A part of her conscious wouldn't let her turn her back on her headmaster when he called upon her.
"Please," she spoke in a low voice. "Don't ask me to make this decision."
"I wouldn't were it anything else, but Ms. Stormhaven must not know of this plan until it has been carried out." Thea scowled and crossed her arms, back still turned. "It's the Saviors."
All breathing ceased. Slow and cautious, as if afraid to do so, the younger wizard shifted, turning to look back at the old man in the chair with disbelieving eyes.
"That's not possible."
"How can you be so sure?"
"They're... They left! They either aren't coming back, or they're..." She stopped before saying it.
The headmaster sighed heavily, and pushed back from the desk to rise to his feet. "They have not passed on from this life, Ms. Everhart. They are in trouble, though."
At last, Thea faced the man completely. Ambrose leaned heavily against the desk before him, but he didn't look weak. His face was strong and ready to take action.
"What's happened to them?"
Ambrose tilted his head down, but his eyes never once left the theurgist's. "She cannot know of this until the mission is complete."
The internal war seeped through onto the girls face. Moments passed, both parties breathing in silence, studying the other and trying to choose what path to take. Finally, Thea broke away, heaving a breath that barley quivered with uncertainty. Then she met his gaze again and gave a firm nod.
"What do you need me to do?"
"Alright, on to the library!" Destiny marched froward, the long trail of rowdy diviners milling after her. "While you're here, the library will be a hub for studying. If you're questing and trying to find answers, this is the place to be," she announced as they arrived in front of the stone building. "And despite its appearance on the outside, believe me, it has an infinite amount of knowledge hidden inside. In we go!" At the door, she paused briefly, looking over her shoulder at the group behind her. "Also, one last thing." She waited momentarily for the voices to hush before narrowing her eyes critically, and warning, "Don't let me catch any of you being rude to the librarians. Boris and Harold have been friends of mine for years now, and I don't tolerate anyone messing with my friends. Understood?" For the first time since they'd left the school of storm, an uncomfortable silence fell over the group. A grin broke out on Destiny's face. "Great! Then let's get to it." She pushed open both doors with ease.
"Destiny! Back so soon?" Boris was just to the right of the doors as the diviners came filing in.
"Afraid so. Turns out Balestrom wanted to see me so that I'd show the new recruits around. Not crazy about the whole thing, but they all seem happy. Just as energetic as storm wizards should be. Missing the flare, though. We'll have to work on that."
"Well, no need to push them too much," Boris mused. "I was the same way when I first came to Ravenwood. As were you."
"Boris, you work in a library. You're still that way," Destiny said with an amused smirked.
Boris just laughed lightheartedly. "Yeah, you're probably right about that. You've never seen me in battle, though."
"You two should battle!" a voice rang out from somewhere in the center of the group.
"Yeah!" another agreed.
"As a demonstration!"
Destiny rolled her eyes. "Don't get ahead of yourselves, kiddos."
"Hey. We aren't children," a voice snapped out, this time from the front of the crowd. Destiny actually turned at this to see the face of the one who'd spoken out. It was a boy, fourteen or fifteen, with his head held high and a defiant scowl on his face. She smirked in return and stepped up to him. As she did so, though, the boy's face warped into brief but unmistakable fear. He uncrossed his arms and when Destiny was inches, one of his feet slid behind the other, the weight of his body shifting to lean away from the dominating presence before him. She stopped with less than a foot between them with a pleased look.
"Sass and flare are not the same thing," she mused, "but, there's no shame in having one over the other." Finally stepping away, she eyed the boy with approval before adding, "Just my own opinion, though." She then directed her speech to the entire group. "Feel free to look around for a bit. Ask Harold questions. Don't break anything, though. Have fun."
After that, the group of thirty or so dispersed. Some went down the halls of the library, amazed at how vast they were compared to the way they looked from outside the building. Others stayed to talk to Harold and Boris. A few tried to talk to Destiny, but she deflected them with ease, swiftly and skillfully crossing the room to the staircase.
The exalted diviner climbed up the stairs, looking down upon the new generation of wizards as she went. They buzzed with energy, an apparent fact that Destiny noted both with nostalgia and envy. Shaking her head, she turned around. The alternative wasn't any better. Worse, really. Four ghostly familiar faces stared back at her unblinking.
About a month ago, Harold had decided to honor the wizards who fought to protect the spiral and all those within it. As a result, the bookcases on the upper floor were removed to make room for four portraits. Destiny despised each one of them. Whenever she gazed at the two directly above the staircase, one of a blonde with stormy grey eyes, the other a girl with tumbling curls of red and shimmering emerald orbs, it was a reminder of what they had done to be worthy of such a high esteem that their portraits hung in the Wizard City library.
Casting her gaze to the left, however, made her heart clench and her stomach twist in a nauseating way, yet her feet carried her forward until she stood before the two paintings that hung parallel to her own. The eyes stared tauntingly down upon her. First she looked to the outer portrait, into the empty eyes of a boy she had never met. They a deep chocolate shade with flecks of amber scattered about to match the full brunette locks that fell just past his jawbone. The pitch black cape that was draped across his shoulders with a skull broach didn't fail to demonstrate the boy's chosen school. Destiny recognized the name engraved in gold beneath it by heart, but the face itself was one she had never seen before. The wizard in the portrait beside it, however, she had seen. When she gazed into his icy eyes, there was a familiarity. He'd been different in person, of course. More alive. His black locks hadn't fallen quite so perfectly across his forehead, either. The painting portrayed a man who was ready to lead an army. Destiny knew that same man to be a boy capable of supporting worlds of people with his words, only to then turn his back and let them fall into darkness.
She glared up at the portrait feeling a bitter taste make its way into her mouth. Frustrated, she tore her gaze from it. "We're heading out," she called from the railing. "Gather at the entrance, everyone. Our next stop is the shopping district."
Even for a world capable of harboring two of Ravenwood's strongest wizards of the generation, Thea hadn't expected to use such a roundabout way of getting onto the world itself. Keys and spiral doors were too overrated for the hidden world, apparently. Fortunately, there happened to be an abandoned castle nearby. The dilapidated structure sat on a small island that had clearly not been accessed for generations, because when Thea pushed the spiral door open, she was met with resistance and loud groans of protest. Cringing at the sounds, she slipped through the crack and pushed the door shut behind her once more. The only noise that remained was the distant sound of thunder clapping. For a moment, Thea debated pulling out her pet for company, but quickly decided against the outrageous thought. Her energetic unicorn wan't quite ideal for the operation. Instead, she got to work. Standing at the edge of the island, Thea could make out the faint outline of a considerably larger fortress a few miles away. She could see and hear the storm clouds from where she stood.
"Looks about right," she mused in a tiny whisper. The only humor she could find was that she'd somehow managed to get herself in the situation where she was standing on a tiny deserted island all alone about to sneak into a prison she knew nothing about in order to save two incredibly powerful wizards who she didn't know the location of, but assumed would be well guarded. Very dry humor, indeed.
Shaking her head, the theurgist called upon her wyvern. The creature emerged from a white cloud, its silver scales glistening in the light of the far away stars. Thea smiled and ran a soothing hand along his back. "Swift and silent," she whispered. Next she was gracefully swinging herself over the creature's back and holding tightly as they took flight.
Nearing their destination, it dawned on Thea that she may have underestimated this task. The island was much larger than she had gauged from afar. With no idea where the prisoners were kept, it wasn't a matter of simply ducking in undetected then slipping back out after. She'd have to find them first, which put her at higher risk of being spotted by whoever the guards were. Ambrose must have lost his mind this time. A rescue mission was one thing, but this was something else entirely. Self-sacrifice with nothing in return. In that moment, the theurgist made a decision that she hoped she wouldn't wind up regretting.
As soon as they had landed along one of the back walls of the structure, Thea pulled out her wand. "Time to disappear, Sky." The Wyvern dissipated into nothing, leaving an empty space. where the creature had once been. Next, she reached into her back pocket and pulled out her commune scroll. The commune scrolls were a quick and easy way to send messages to other wizards without leaving any magic residue. She scribbled several words onto the paper, pressed the spiral key against it, and with her wand, sent it away. All that was left was to find the Saviors and get out before they were caught. Shouldn't be too hard.
By the time Destiny got home that night, she was ready and eager to just collapse onto her bed and not get back up until after orientation was finally over. The spiral, it seemed, had another plan for her. As soon as she had set foot into her underwater palace, there was a chime that emitted from within her robes. Frowning, she reached up her sleeve and pulled out her commune. It wasn't often that she received communes. She only ever seemed to need it when Thea or herself was in trouble and needed to get in touch with one another quickly. The method wasn't in very common use for anyone but students since it required linking the communes first. Most professors didn't even have them.
"Five minutes, that's all I ask for," Destiny mumbled. Unrolled the scroll, though, her jaw clenched, and she knew those five minutes wouldn't be coming any time soon. A small object began fizzling into place, and Destiny reached out before it finished so that it landed in her palm. Examining it, she realized the object she was holding was an old, but not overused, Spiral key. Brows knitted, she glanced over the words on the paper. It was brief and clearly rushed, but the message was clear.
"Thea."
The fortress wasn't quite as complex and difficult to navigate as Thea had originally anticipated. Sure, there weren't any maps laying around, but the structure seemed to be a circle surrounding a large courtyard that everything around it looked out onto. Really, it was like a lot of other castles Thea had come across, especially in Avalon, but with more of a Darkmoore vibe to it.
She'd made it all the way to the center of the main structure when she had to make a decision. There were two spiral staircases presented before her, one going up, and the other down. In her experience with dungeons, whenever someone was missing, they tended to be at the top of the tower rather than the bottom of it. Still, if it were her and she were hiding two powerful wizards within a castle, she'd probably put them in the dungeons, which were always on the lower levels.
An echoing clunk is what ultimately sent her forward to the descending staircase. Her feet seemed to be carrying her of their own free will, hardly even meeting the stone beneath them. She reached the bottom within moments, and immediately flattened her back against the wall beside the doorway. She held her breath... waited... and listened.
The only sound she could hear was a distant tapping. Leaning around the arch, she peered down the hallway.
Bingo.
The walls were lined with metal bars. These were the dungeons that lay beneath the castle. Not very well hidden, but who was Thea to complain.
The halls themselves were devoid of guards, and Thea took this as her cue. Trying not to get sloppy in her thrilled state, the theurgist slid along the wall, down the corridor. The farther she went, the louder the tapping became. All of the cells were empty, though.
Finally, at the end of the hall, she came upon a sturdy-looking metal door. The tapping was coming from the other side, she realized. There was a sliding plate eye-level to her with a small handle that Thea curled her fingers around. Then she paused. On the other side of this door might be two legendary wizards that vanished years ago. That, or it may be nothing. It could be some other prisoner. Thea wasn't sure if she was ready for either one. She knew what she had to do, though. Her arm moved on command, and Thea lifted herself up to glimpse into the small room on the other side of the door.
The room was dimly lit. A small, barred window on the far end of the room, opposite the door was the only source of light. Two metal planks hung from either side of the room as makeshift beds with a single blanket on each. Both beds were occupied. Thea's breath caught in her throat as the head of the figure laying on the left craned, and from across the poorly lit space, Thea could make out orbs of deep amber and crimson.
The tapping ceased, and in a swift motion, the outline of a man swung his legs over the side of the bed and rose from it in an almost animalistic manner. Thea almost staggered back as the dark figure moved closer. His entire body seemed to be shrouded in darkness except for his eyes that remained wide and trained on the girl peering at him through the tiny nook. About a foot from the door, the movement stopped. Thea stared at those striking eyes, unable to break away.
"Tristan." His voice was deep and smooth. "Looks like it's finally time. We're getting out of here."
Thus concludes the first chapter. Very different from my previous work if you read IwOsS. This one is third person past tense. Mixing it up.
The second chapter is already in the works, but I don't plan on posting it until I see that there's some sort of interest in the story. Commenting is like lighting a fire under me. It gets me moving. You don't need an account to comment, so anyone feel free! Just let me know your thoughts and if you would like to see more. Hopefully someone out there will eventually be as excited for this story as I am. Lol. I know, I know. A lot to ask, but story-telling is an amazing thing.
Hope to hear from you soon!
CupCake