An Awakening in Ink
Dire Crowley, Headmaster of Night Raven College, walked down the corridor with six of the dorm Perfects, a tablet, and staff. The other students walked behind, all were ready for the ceremony. He doesn’t pay mind to the students or staff as he walks. Looking at the list of new students he focuses on the new coffin listed that wasn’t there an hour ago. This coffin doesn’t have a name listed with it, this development fills Crowley with trepidation.
When the group is at most 200 feet away the doors to the Mirror Chamber burst open. This causes Crowley to look up, standing there looking frantically around was a cat. This cat finally noticed the students and staff, he dropped to all fours and ran straight to Riddle, the Perfect of Heartslabyul.
“Riddle, there's something wrong.” The cat jumped straight into Riddle’s arms trying to hide.
“Grim, What are you doing here? I have told you not to come on the school grounds when people can see you. Now, What were you doing in the Mirror Chamber, what could possibly be wrong with sleeping students.”
Riddle was red in the face due to anger or that he was caught breaking a rule for the cat no one could say.
“Riddle, I was going to steal a robe so I could attend. When I was going to open a coffin, the smell of ink came from one of them. It has ink leaking out of it. Is the student drowning? Why would there be ink in the coffin?”
The Perfects and the staff stiffen at the word Ink. Grim is inconsolable, believing that the student is dead. Riddle is trying to get him to calm down.
“Grim, that's enough, I have already told you, you're not old enough to attend college, you're only 6-8 in human years. We will discuss you trying to steal a robe later. Are You Sure It's INK?”
Grim looks up at Riddle, tears in his eyes. “Riddle, it is ink. I don’t get it. Why is there ink in the coffin?”
Riddle doesn’t answer Grim. Determination shows in his eyes as he looks at Crowley. “Headmaster, how should we proceed?”
Crowley looks at the papers in his hand with a dark look and proceeds to throw them away. He looks to his staff and students.
“Attention, as of right now, the ceremony will not proceed as normal. Teacher’s, find the coffin that could be leaking ink.”
Crewel nods to Crowley and then leads the rest of the teachers into the Mirror Chamber.
“Perfect’s, you will stay in the Mirror Chamber as your assistant may be needed.”
Riddle and the other Perfects nod, summoning their staff, and they enter the chamber. Riddle hands Grim to Cater before he enters.
“Vice Perfect’s you will stay only until the last freshman is sorted and then you will lock down your dorms.”
The Vice Perfect’s position themselves at the main door and secondary door.
“All other students, you will help open the coffins and as the freshmen are sorted you will remove them to the dorms. By the time the Vice Perfect’s are there to lock the dorms down all students must be in the dorms and accounted for.”
The students left nod and entered with Crowley. They all stop, on the right side of the chamber is the coffin in question. The coffin is of an older design, when the coffin design tells you which species were in the coffins. This coffin is one for the Fae, with the 3 foot diameter puddle of ink under it, isn’t a good sign.
“Does everyone understand these orders?”
“Yes, Headmaster Crowley.” The students say at once.
“Lilia, we are going to need you to stay as the Perfects do. Does Silver know how to lock down the dorm?”
Lilia teleports to Crowley. He looks at the coffin and nods to him. The playful and mischievous side of Lilia is not seen, in its place is the serious and war hardened side of himself.
“Silver, you will take over as Vice. Do you understand?”
Lilia looks at Silver, Silver nods and takes position at the door.
Everyone is on guard, the students opening the coffins lead the students up as quickly as they can. The new students know something is off. They are woken up, then the older students lead them straight to the Mirror and are sorted, and then handed off to a student of the dorm and sent straight there.
This is a quiet and quick affair. All but the freshman keep their eyes on the ink filled coffin.
Right as the last student is sorted and getting ready to leave. A scream shatters the quiet atmosphere of the room, and a pound of fists hitting the coffin door. The coffin shakes with the strength of the hits.
Silver grabs the last student, and drags him out as the rest of the Vice’s run to the dorm mirrors. Ancient spells and runes activate, seven runes light in the Mirror Chamber showing that the dorms are locked.
A second scream sounds, everyone can feel the rise in magic, and the coffin shatters. Everyone in the room raises a defensive shield as ink splatters everywhere, two ink filled ceremonial robes hit the floor at Crowley and Lilia’s feet, and two children stand where the coffin once stood.
Crowley just stares as do the others in shock. These children look to be at most 13-14. Too young to be there, let alone be on the verge of an overblot. Both share a small stature, thin almost to thin, jet black hair, one with emerald eyes, and the other crimson eyes.
Ink along with tears pours out of their eyes, ink lace work on both left eyes as the flame of overblot flickers. With the flickering flame in the twos eye, also the flickering of a glimmer.
The clothes the two wear while covered in ink tell a story. Grime, blood, and burned in places. Injuries visible as well.
The mumbling of the children is now understandable.
“I want to go home.” “I want peace.” “I want to heal.” “I want to go…home,” said at a rapid pace, speaking over each other.
They all watch as the children fail the fight, as they scream the word home, the ink forms a cocoon around them. Two Phantoms come out of the puddle of ink in the form of wyverns with glass jars as the head, filled with ink.
The cocoon opens, while the clothes didn’t change, they were covered in ink with wings made out of ink. They no longer held human features, these were Fae children, vertical-slit pupils, pointed ears, fangs, and face scales.
Lilia stepped forward dropping his glimmer, he now looks like a man vs. a teenager, and his hair longer.
“Perfects, split into two groups of three, attack the Phantoms. Teachers are defenses for the Perfects. Crowley, we have to tire the children out.”
Lilia throughout orders. Mallues, Vil, and Kalim group together with Vargus and Sam, together they attack the wyvern on the right . Leona, Riddle and Azul group together with Crewel and Trein, together they go for the one on the left.
Crowley goes for the boy and Lilia goes for the girl. What felt like hours was only forty-five minutes, Mallues broke the jar on one wyvern and Riddle the jar on the other. Crowley caught the boy as he rendered him unconscious. Lilia caught the girl in his arms as she dropped to her knees.
“We just wanted to come home. Just to come home.” She slips into sleep. Lilia just sits there holding her, humming and rubbing her back.