Chapter 8: The Ninth Circle Spell of Darkness: The Ethereal Nightmare
"Have you finished reading it?" Jore'Sal asked.
"Yes…" Meryl answered impatiently. "And I barely slept because of it."
It was morning and the first day of Meryl's training. She was geared in her new Rose Armor, while her master was in Bloodrock. They stood facing each other in the field in front of the Tower of the Nephilim. The rest of the Heretics, except Jade, were also there, anxiously waiting to see whatever their leader planned to teach his lone, female apprentice.
"I don't understand why she has to have special training. She's not a Heretic!" Sieghart complained.
"I agree." Nightflame said, nodding his head. "Jore'Sal didn't even tell us anything about these two Forbidden Spells until now."
Jore'Sal heard their complaints and turned to them.
"I don't need to teach them to you since I know that all of you are in perfect shape to fight against Urumi's men." Jore'Sal said. "Besides," His lips formed the usual grin that annoyed Meryl so much. "It's my duty to make this idiot more challenging for others."
Meryl flinched as all the Heretics burst into laughter. She gritted her teeth with extreme irritation.
"You know, while you were enjoying yourself a minute there, I would have casted a lightning spell on you. But since you're here to teach me something very important, I'll let that slide. Mind you, I'm not in a very good mood today. So try not to humiliate me early in the morning, especially when I haven't had a good night's sleep."
Jore'Sal only replied with a smirk. Meryl was still annoyed, and it irritated her even more when he smiled like that.
"All kidding aside though," He began this time in a serious tone. "I hope you're ready for this. Learning the two spells will make you a very powerful magic user."
Meryl nodded.
"But don't let this thought boost your ego." He added. "Though you may become stronger than you are now, there is also always a way to overcome that strength. This is something you must always remember, because it is usually the youth that tend to become so egotistical when it comes to acquiring new powers. But I trust that you're old enough to know this."
Meryl nodded again, as if she were a soldier in an army.
"Alright, let's have a short review. There are four basic spells under each category of Dark and Light." Jore'Sal said, holding out four fingers. "Under Dark, the spells are Harm, Curse, Weaken, and Summon Creature. Under Light—"
"Heal, Bless, Strengthen, and Dispel." Meryl interrupted.
"Good." Jore'Sal commended.
The rest of the Heretics listened intently as Meryl did, for they also wanted to know at least something about the new spells.
"Now, for standard magery, there are only eight Circles. But the last two, also called the Dark and Light of Circles Nine and Ten are also known as the Forbidden Spells, so they are not printed in the common spellbooks. There is only one spell under each of these Circles, considering that they are the most powerful spells in the world."
Jore'Sal searched his pouch for reagents: Black Pearls, Bloodmoss, and others that were not commonly used for spellcasting. He turned back to the Criterion.
"Today, I will teach you how to properly cast the 9th Circle Spell, Ethereal Nightmare. Just from the name itself, you already know what it does." He said. "I am going to cast this spell on you, but I will try my best to take it easy. This is for you to know what happens to those who fall victim to it."
Meryl began to feel nervous. She trembled at the thought that Jore'Sal would victimize her with one of his spells, and to think that the spell he would be casting was one of the strongest ones.
He took a deep breath and held up his reagents, focusing on Meryl. They disintegrated after he recited a long and unfamiliar chant. The young Criterion was suddenly enclosed inside the image of a star inscribed in a circle, and her surroundings began to dissolve. After her vision became totally distorted, everything she saw faded, and darkness reigned over them. In a matter of seconds, everything turned into nothing.
Meryl was an entity in this emptiness. There was nothing that appealed to her senses, except the sound of her own heartbeat and the sight of her body, which was the only thing radiant in this total blackness.
"J-Jore'Sal?" Meryl stammered.
There was no answer. Meryl shivered. She was alone; all alone, and no one else was with her. Suddenly, the darkness began to dissolve again and Meryl closed her eyes to prevent herself from feeling nauseous. When she reopened them, she found herself in a vast, green field—a battlefield.
The sun was high up in sky. It was definitely noon. Meryl stood at the center of the field, in between two armies: Order and Chaos. Each of the soldiers carried a shield representing the category they were in. Order shields had the shape of a Kite shield, while Chaos shields were circular. Both had equal defense and quality.
The heat of the sun was nearly unbearable that it made the female Criterion perspire quickly, and it seemed to drain the energy out of her. But the opposing armies faced each other without signs of weakness. The leader of the Order alliance, Lestat, positioned himself in front of his army. He was on a shadow mustang, wearing Bloodrock armor, and holding up a banner with the symbol of Order imprinted on it. On the opposite side, the leader was Urumi Kanzaki, on a black mustang. She wore her usual blackrock armor and also held up a banner containing the symbol of Chaos.
Everything seemed real to Meryl, and she wondered why she was caught in between the two armies and not with Lestat in the Order side.
"Lestat…" She called, but it was too weak.
She knew he could not hear her. His name came out almost in a whisper, though she shouted it. Meryl did not understand why she felt like this. She was confused. Why did she feel so tired and so weak? Even calling the name of someone she looked up to seemed so hard to do.
There was suddenly a loud battle cry, and the two armies charged towards each other. Both stampeded to the center; to Meryl, not realizing that she was there, paralyzed with fear and unable to move. Not even the army of Order noticed that they could trample on her with their mustangs and zostriches. They began to draw their weapons.
"L-Lestat!" She cried again, this time trying hard to make it louder than the first.
They were all very close now, and Meryl crouched on the ground. She closed her eyes and covered her head with her arms. Death was a sure thing in this situation. Just before the armies collided with her, she cried out again as loud as she could, but this time, it was not for Lestat.
"JORE'SAL!"
Meryl opened her eyes and bolted up, panting and perspiring heavily.
"Are you alright?" Jore'Sal's voice rang through her ears.
She found him crouched beside her and carrying a look of worry in his face. Everything was back to normal. She stared down at her lap, recalling everything that had happened.
"I made sure that I modified the spell when I casted it on you. But I did not expect it to affect you this much." Jore'Sal said. "I think it is best if you rest for a while. We'll continue with this later."
He turned to the other Heretics, who were all awestricken at what had happened.
"Smoke." He called. "Get me some water."
"Of course." Smoke answered and entered the tower.
Meryl looked up at her master.
"What was that?" She asked weakly. "And why do I feel… like… I've never been to battle before?"
"If I had given my all on that spell, you would have been dead by now. What you saw was an illusion, an unreal reality that your mind brought to life. The reason why you feel weakened is because the whole time you were having that little nightmare, your strength was being drained. That is the power of the ninth circle: to take you into a world of fear, while it eats you slowly until you become a lifeless body in true reality."
"I see…" Meryl replied softly.
Jore'Sal took Meryl's arm and placed it around his neck. He stood up and supported Meryl as they limped over to the other Heretics, under a tree. He gently placed Meryl against the tree trunk while Smoke returned with a gourd of water. She knelt down beside her and placed the opening of the gourd in her lips, and Meryl gulped the cold but sweet water as it poured into her mouth.
"Take care of her until she feels better." Jore'Sal said, and Smoke nodded.
He then turned to the rest of the Heretics.
"That was some spell." Kyo said as Jore'Sal approached them.
"Why teach her something as dangerous as that?" Xylotyl asked. "Do you really think she can handle it?"
Jore'Sal turned to Meryl and Smoke, and watched as Smoke continued to give her more water. He turned back to his fellow guild mates.
"She can handle it. She is stupid, but my apprentice, after all." He answered with a small smile. "Now, why don't we forget about the matter and have a duel while she recovers? Who among you wants to be the first to taste the ground?"
"How comical, Jore'Sal." Kyo said as he drew his sword. "But I could use a bit of practice."
The Heretics leader, unsheathing his own weapon, grinned in amusement and made his way to the field.
"Come." He said, and waited for Kyo to initiate his attack.
--
It did not take long before Meryl regained her strength. She left the group of extremely exhausted Heretics (all had dueled with Jore'Sal and lost) and rejoined her master to continue her training.
"Now that you have seen me cast the spell, I want you to try casting it on this." Jore'Sal said. "Kal Xen." He chanted after he held out a handful of reagents.
A small, glowing star symbol lit up from the ground in front of him, and out of it came an animal that made Meryl's jaw hang from her mouth in surprise. Jore'Sal turned to her.
"Do it." He commanded.
Meryl glowered at her master.
"A chicken?" She said impatiently. "Master Jore'Sal, you know I can do better than that!"
"Just do it, Meryl."
"Can you at least make it a dog?"
"Shut up and cast the spell." Jore'Sal said more firmly.
"Alright, alright!" His apprentice replied in defeat.
Meryl pulled out the needed reagents while Jore'Sal backed away from the summoned animal. Holding them out and aiming at the chicken, she closed her eyes and recited the 9th Circle's long chant. Her reagents immediately disintegrated in a poof of smoke and she heard a loud fizzle. Nothing else happened after that.
Jore'Sal rolled his eyes while Meryl pulled out another handful of reagents. She recited the chant again but the result was also the same, and Jore'Sal rested his forehead on his knuckles.
"Alright, one more time…" Meryl said and she drank a bottle of mana refresh.
She took the needed reagents again and focused on the chicken. Reciting the long chant once again, the reagents disintegrated. What followed was another loud fizzle and nothing else.
Meryl looked back innocently at her master, as he gave her the look that seemed to say, "You are an idiot".
"I can always try, try, and try again." Meryl replied to the message in her master's face.
Jore'Sal sighed.
"Today is going to be a long day…"