Completed The Cut That Always Bleeds

[Everleigh Ebersol]

“This is why you’re in charge, Initiate Castomir,” Proctor Palahniuk said.

Everleigh however looked towards Zael, no expression evident on her face. But the quick look was all she needed to express her thoughts. Burning down the whole woods, possibly some witches as well? That was going to be too much, even for a die-hard like Zael.

She was certain that Zael was thinking how he could pull such a thing off. Even if he could get a few trees burning down, it wouldn’t be fast enough to spread throughout the forest at a rate that could kill those hiding inside. Plus there were more traps and beasts inside those woods, other illusions waiting to pounce.

“Initiate Ebersol, stay here and—“

“Excuse me, but Proctor Palahniuk, I need to go with Zael.” If looks could kill, Everleigh would be dead ten times over already under his watery-brown glare. “Zael is capable,” she continued before Proctor Palahniuk interrupted, “but we should play it smart so the whole ranch doesn’t go up in flames. If Zael and I work together, I’m certain not a single witch would survive.”

“You’re certain? HA!” Proctor Palahniuk sneered, then gestured over to the giant still encased in that incredible iceberg. “You’ve been injured not once, but twice, you’re a glass canon— no, a glass doll ready to be smashed into a million pieces.”

“You’re right, I am.” Everleigh said, standing firm. “But I’m going with Zael. We need to still figure out where Miklan could be. If the witches have him, it’s better to have two initiates to save him than only one. And I have a plan. My plans don’t fail. We were able to lure those creatures out enough for me to figure out the next step of action. And that’s burning the woods by having the air becoming flammable and letting Zael ignite only once.” Initiate and Proctor stared at each other hard.

“I don’t have enough magic to heal you again.” Proctor Palahniuk admitted. “Either of you.”

“I can work through this.” Everleigh looked back at Zael. “We can work through it.”

“Fine.” Despite his reluctance, Proctor Palahniuk nodded his head. “Hurry up into the woods. BUT. Your goal is not to find Miklan. It’s to burn those woods, you understand?”

Zael Castomir

 

[Zael Castomir]

Thank Kress for Ever backing him up on that. If confidence could've set the forest on fire it'd be a blaze right now, but all Zael had in the bank as far as actually being able to set the forest aflame were a few tiny drops of magic, like the last little bits of energy a runner had in his legs to get him home after a marathon.

We can work through it.

"Ain't nothin we haven't had worse of in the Academy," Zael said, trying to help persuade Proctor P. His fucking pierced cheek was going to be bothersome as all fuck, but at least he wasn't walking around with bones that might be fractured or outright broken like Ever.

And he did eventually relent. He also made it clear what he expected of them.

"That's the mission." In this case, words were one thing, deeds another. Zael would say whatever he needed to say to appease Proctor P, because Miklan's life might well hang in the balance of it.

Zael turned, starting the walk toward those woods, the remains of the cord which tethered the Giant like a fleshy guide arrow pointing the way.

"Surprising that Proctor P actually listened to you."

Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh was silent for a moment. As her and Zael made there way to the forest, Everleigh couldn’t help but look back over her shoulder a few times. Proctor Palahniuk was checking out the iceberg he had created and probably patting himself on the back for a job well done.

At least he had actually done something impressive. And perhaps Everleigh would keep in the back of her mind that Proctor Palahniuk, could indeed, live up to the title of proctor. Which meant he was more than capable in kicking her ass whenever he wanted to.

When they were far enough, Everleigh would look back at Zael.

“Let me grab my sword,” Everleigh said, and pointed over to where her sword lay, barely missing being incased by the iceberg. She went at it briskly, but after a few steps, decided to go slow. Up close, she could see that a good amount of ice was crusted onto the blade and hilt and that the sword was stuck to the ground.

Stomping at the thin layer of ice broke it up just enough for her to grab her sword and head back to Zael, beginning to peel off the ice from the steel.

“He’s exhausted.” Everleigh said after a moment. “Although it’s likely because if anything tries to attack the Kresselrings, he’s better at protecting them than I am. He doesn’t have broken bones.” Her foot ached and there was that searing pain in her chest whenever she took a breath. But Zael was right, they had endured worse at the academy.

“And.” She sucked in a painful breath of air through her teeth before hissing it out. “I’m not sure it’s even witches. But burning the forest is a step in the right direction. I’ll make it a piece of cake for you.”

Zael Castomir

 

[Zael Castomir]

This forest. Where it started. Where it was going to end. One way or another, even if Zael had to cobble together a bunch of tinder and light it with a spark from his sword, this place was going to burn and whatever was hiding inside the copse—be it witches or monstrous things mimicking human life—wasn't going to see the sunrise.

He just had to keep his cool. Not let any trickery get a hold of him and quite literally burn him out.

"I hope so," Zael said, glancing off into the thick of the woods for a moment. "I talked a big game back there. Heh, like you could do anything else before a Proctor."

Even if it was Proctor P, a Proctor was still a Proctor. And hell, despite the best efforts of Talus and company, some things never changed.

Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

“When do you not talk a big game?” Zael had a point regardless of Everleigh’s quip. Telling a proctor ‘no’ outright was begging to be punished. Revolution had changed some things, allowed initiates maybe to express their ideas, but even on missions where the proctor was present and despite them saying the initiates were in charge, everyone knew the proctors were in charge.

With the last of the ice peeled from her blade, Everleigh was prepared to do whatever she had to do to burn the woods down. She was only going to injure herself more but that was the price of her magic; she couldn’t make toxins out of nothing.

So whether Zael knew it or not, this would be their last shot at getting rid of whatever was tormenting the Kesselrings. Or else they’d have to get help from Palahniuk and Everleigh wasn’t keen on doing that again.

“Here’s the plan, we get as close as we can to that center, I’ll have a flammable mist ready for you but you just gotta wait a minute so I can get it out of there without burning to a crisp.” She looked at Zael. Would he be able to wait a minute? Would they be put under the illusion spell again? Would they be able to break out of it again?

She wasn’t certain it would be a flawless execution, so many things could go wrong, and they could only prepare for so many things in the short time they had. And burning up the little copse, would that truly do any good or would it end up making things worse? Everleigh shook her head and shook away the doubt.

Those worries didn’t matter. She was going to be a dreadlord soon enough and needed to act like it. Instead of hoping for a plan to work, she’d make it work, anyway that she had to.

Zael Castomir

 

[Zael Castomir]

"Well," Zael said, bending over (and wincing a little as the touch of a breeze graced his pierced cheek just right to make it sting like a bitch), picking up a rock from the forest floor, and giving it a small toss and catching it as he righted himself, "this here is gonna be the backup plan."

He tried to grin, his pierced cheek gave him more shit, and he canceled that motion.

"Now, you might be wonderin, 'Zael, that ain't flint though. Gonna be rough sparkin that.' And you'd be right enough, Ever. But if it is a witch responsible for all this and we find her, she'll never expect to get domed in the head with a rock of all things."

Sure, the rock could potentially produce a spark to light up Ever's flammable mist with some good effort, but it was funnier to say what he said. And, well, this humor was how he blunted his worry over Miklan, still lost and was Kress knew where.

He shouldered his sword and in his offhand gave the rock another toss and caught it again and started toward the copse's interior.

"Here we go. Nice and quiet like."

He said, as his plate armor rattled.

Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

A snort and then a beginning of a laugh that quickly died out the moment her lungs had to expand came from Everleigh. She was starting to get ahold of Zael’s humor, although she really hoped it all was a joke. If he wanted to take the time to make a spark from that rock then it could be just the thing to get the witch a window of escape.

Although, if he did knock a witch out by throwing the rock? It would be a story to share for as long as they lived.

“You’re lucky you have a nice face to look at.” Was all Everleigh said, the hint of a smile on her lips. Well, at least they had a Plan A-point-two and Plan A-point-three, if Plan A-point-one didn’t work. As for a Plan B or C they would have to improvise with whatever the situation brought to them. Unfortunately, only more and more of their resources were being drained, and Everleigh couldn’t help but feel like with every mistake they were being pushed closer and closer to the edge of a steep cliff.

Despite the noise from Zael’s armor, Everleigh felt being quiet didn’t matter much. Stepping into the copse, were darkness seemed to be eternal and no source of light could make the darkness go away, Everleigh felt like she was being watched. Her hair raised up and she looked around, expecting to see eyes all around. Her heart beat fast against her chest, and Everleigh swallowed.

Her hands were becoming clammy, but she ignored it and sucked in a large breath, fighting against the pain. She breathed the air deep into her stomach, letting it settle there and holding it. Eyes were glowing purple, and she whispered a incarnation— careful not to take another breath while doing so.

She used her sword to slice her open palm, and holding her bleeding palm close to her mouth as if she were about to blow a kiss, she released that breath she had been holding in for far too long. A red mist came from her blood and breath, dispersing into the air and blending in. Everleigh was going to conserve a good amount until they were closer to the center.

“Zael?” Everleigh whispered, looking over at him, confused. “I can hardly see you.” All around them the darkness was growing, and despite her darkvision rune, Zael seemed to be slowly fading into the darkness that surrounded them.

Zael Castomir

 

[Zael Castomir]

Why did it always have to be the palm? Man, that was going to hurt like hell throughout all this. But yeah, the palm. None of their Proctors, even those with a wealth of magical understanding, ever really attempted to explain that. Zael's opinion was that magic was a finicky bitch, and it just liked certain parts of the body to be focused through over others. Nobody he knew ever blew a fireball out of their ass (other than for a laugh).

Theories aside, the red mist went billowing into the air, weaving around the trees, permeating the copse that was in their immediate vicinity with a thin haziness.

Haziness. There was a saying about frogs and boiling water that seemed apropos here all of sudden, for, after watching the flammable mist disperse, it came to Zael's attention that this wasn't the only haziness about in the copse of wood. A veil of darkness had come about so slowly as to not be noticed, as to even be natural with the departure of the evening sun. And now it this veil was hastening in its strangulation of their sight.

"Ever?" Zael said. "Ever, you still there?"

He reached out toward the last place he had seen her, where now was little more than a shadowed silhouette.

Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Fingertips touched over the metal gauntlet, giving both the initiates reassurance that whatever was happening, at least they both still together.

“I think it’s just darkness.” Everleigh said, her voice low, a hand reaching out elsewhere and feeling a tree to the side of her. She pursed her lips in curiosity, wondering if it was another illusion, or maybe some other sort of magic. Suddenly, beneath their feet, a faint trail of small footsteps could be seen.

Footsteps belonging to a child. Echoing around them was the sound of laughter. It sounded like Miklan, even as it echoed about. When Everleigh looked ahead of the path, she could see that it led to what appeared to be a small shack. A hazy light behind it that showed the two initiates it’s outline, with it’s door wide-open.

Everleigh shook her head. Too easy. Too obvious. Whatever they were hunting obviously knew that Miklan was a bargaining chip. You want him, come and get him, here he is, right here. Every hair on Everleigh’s skin was standing up in trepidation. She could ignore it, but the thing was… wasn’t that shack right where the middle should be? Or at least near it?

Right where Everleigh wanted Zael to use the last of his martial fire to burn the wicked wood to the ground. What if Miklan was actually inside? What if he wasn’t?

“Zael.” Everleigh said. “I don’t think we should.”

Zael Castomir

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

And so their journey came to an end…

Entering the house didn’t reveal Miklan but instead two witches, who weren’t really witches at all. Protecting a slumbering Galatea as she recovered from her wounds after escaping a high-security prison, they failed to stop the plan that Everleigh and Zael had agreed upon. Everleigh had filled the air with a flammable mist and as she ran away, Zael only had to use a fraction of magic to turn everything ablaze.

Galatea escaped, but at the cost of the witches that revealed themselves to be different aspects of Galatea’s emotions, and with their death, so would the Archon lose the ability to feel remorse and denial. Not that it mattered much to the initiates or Galatea the Blasphemous.

As Everleigh escaped, running from the woods and barely ahead of the growing flames, she saw Miklan. Lost in the woods and dazed, he stood still. Everleigh had a choice to make: reach the end of the woods unscathed or to risk her body further and protect Miklan. Without knowing why she did it, she used her body to protect Miklan, even as she was burned, her spell of fire resistance doing little to reprieve her of the damage she took but Miklan was unharmed. With Zael’s help, Everleigh was able to make it through the burning woods with Miklan.

The next day, as Proctor Palahniuk and the initiates were saying goodbye to the Kesselrings, Miklan proudly declared that Zael was his hero and he was going to be just like him one day. His older brother Dimitri informed him of needing magic, but Miklan responded that until he had magic, he was going to work hard and hone his body just as Zael had said the day before.

The trio left on top of their horses, and just as soon as they had left Arnim behind, they saw two travelers on the road: a man and his son. Everleigh recognized her father immediately, and to her shock realized she had a little brother who looked just like her (minus all the purple.) When she called out to her father, he told her he had no daughter and then told his son to hurry, using the name ‘Everett’ as a way to show Everleigh she had been replaced with her little brother.

Disheartened by the fact her father refused to acknowledge her, when she looked over her shoulder, she caught Everett doing the same. Her only consolation for the interaction. The entire way back to the Academy, Proctor Palahniuk lectured the two initiates and reminded them that they were idiots. Not that the two of them cared as Everleigh told Zael of her plan to create the Punishment Game while Palahniuk rambled on.

Zael Castomir