Pain.
A deep pain that ripped and tore at all that she was, body, mine, and essence alike. A consequence of attempting to separate from her physical form. The agonizing pain, unlike anything she'd been faced with, was only the tip of the mountain of reasons The Academy leveed against the act to see it forbidden and its knowledge barred away from any who sought it out.
The pain that accompanied such an act had been among the last things she recalled clearly. What followed tittered at the edge of the weighty fog that enshrouded her mind.
Her apprentice. His voice. And the pain.
The pain had only worsened after his arrival.
But why? And why couldn't she-
The weight circling her mind and slowing her thoughts lifted, Sellen eyes snapping open as she shot up, a sharp gasp breaking free.
Neither the small prison she so loathed nor the familiar hideaway that acted as her only source of reprieve surrounded her. She was not surrounded by crumbling walls at all. The mouth of a long darkened tunnel sat to her left and to her right? Trees, grassy plains, a rainy sky, and so much more.
All things that had become nothing more than distant memories for her.
"Are you well?" Sellen tore her gaze away from the wide open wilds. Directly across from her, Onyx's Finger Maiden sat cross legged, cloak draped over the entirety of her form, back propped against the opposite side of the tunnel entrance, single apathetic eye locked with her own.
A chuckle left Sellen as she fell back against the rocky entrance that'd been keeping her upright.
Well? She was beyond that.
Now that she'd fully come to, she felt invigorated. There was no aching pressure of bonds keeping her arms pulled back at all times. Dull pangs from age old wounds didn't flare up at the slightest of movements. The burn of her eyes as well as the weight of exhaustion did not press down on her.
Sellen shifted, reaching for the base of her mask and removing it before coming to a stand, its weight held loosely in one hand as she stepped out from the shelter provided by the tunnel's opening and into the building drizzle. She spread out here arms, tilting her head back as she raised her free hand.
Most importantly of all, she could feel more than just pain.
The rain pattering against her body. Te cool droplets wetting the tangled, matted mess of her hair, eventually making its way down to her scalp and dripping down her face. The cool night air that sat against her skin. The faint winds that tickled her nose. Grass and dirt beneath her bare feet. Even each breath flowing through her as she took them.
She'd truly taken the outdoors and all the came with it for granted.
Looking down, she spotted a puddle within a small depression at her feet. She kneeled, hand pressing to her face.
Smooth skin? No cuts, burns or the countless other injuries inflicted upon her. Even her hair, dirty as it was, was the jet black she remembered from oh so long ago. If there was one thing she'd been spared, it was coming face to face with whatever hollowed shell those countless years kept in captivity and subjected to all forms of torture had created.
But she knew for certain that youthful face that stared back at her with widened bewilderment, a dead ringer for the long past days spent studying within the halls of Raya Lucaria, was not it.
What had happened to her? To this body of hers she'd been prepped to abandon?
"Where is Onyx?" Sellen questioned as she prepared to slip her mask back on. She stopped short, nose crunching up. The outdoors wasn't the only thing she took for granted. A bath and a proper cleaning of what little she had in her possession were among the first things she be seeing to now with freedom returned to her.
"Further in." The Finger Maiden revealed.
Sellen wasted no time, mask placed where she awoke as she stepped into the darkened tunnel, hand to the craggy walls so she could find her way forward. This was hardly the ideal place for it, a putrid stench becoming more and more prevalent the further in she went, but all the same, Sellen couldn't help but marvel how good it felt to just walk around and stretch her legs, the feel of the cold rock below far more fascinating than it should be.
Soon the darkness was beat back by a shifting light, what she assumed to be Onyx's shifting shadow cast along the tunnel's walls. And, as she turned a rounding corner, he came into sight. Kneeling at one of the walls, he scrapped at dark green moss growing throughout the cracks and crevices, collecting the substance into a pile.
A key ingredient in medicine used to combat poison. Making such things hadn't been her specialty but solo research expeditions called for her to wear numerous hats. While the time she spent imprisoned had dulled them, it failed to erase such knowledge.
"I wouldn't go any further in." Onyx said without stopping is scraping or turning as she stepped up behind him. "Poisoned liquid is pooled throughout the rest of the place. And the things that have adapted to it don't take too kindly to us."
"Mmm, I do believe discussing what happened to me and your role in it is important enough for you to pause your collection, dear apprentice." Sellen said. Now that she was this close to him and no longer fending off painful distractions of viewing him through a mere projection, he seemed all the more formidable.
Whether he'd grow stronger once more or it had to with a change in circumstance, she wasn't sure.
"Fair enough." He placed the golden dagger he was using on a gathering of rocks beside him before rising and turning to face her. His brow rose as he gave her a once over. "Huh, guess you aren't a crone after all. Definitely in need of a bath though."
"One of the first things I'll be taking care of. You can be sure of that." She agreed, hand raised to her face once more, a finger tracing smooth skin. It wasn't something she much cared for, but, while she had been well on her way to what some called the wrong side of middle aged by the time of her imprisonment, she still hadn't suffered much in the looks department aside from the beginnings of wrinkles. A distinctly missing feature from this youthful face.
"Not only have I awakened to find the Academy's bonds broken but my youth has apparently been restored to me." Sellen said, crossing her arms and raising her own brow. "What exactly did you do to manage such things?"
He shrugged. "Its not so much what I did but what you did." Her brow rose further. "I just gave you a bit of my energy. A little push I guess you can say. How you used it was entirely up to you."
Energy transference? She knew of some magical techniques practiced by others, as well as rituals, which allowed for one to absorb the energy of another permanently, a vast majority involving the death or severe injury of the victim, so the concept wasn't anything new to her. But one sorcerer, especially one only beginning to learn the art, freely giving energy to another?
Sellen found that rather difficult to believe.
Then again, unexplainable phenomena was the norm when it came to her apprentice.
"Mmmm, very curious." Sellen hummed, cupping her chin. She opted not to think too deeply about it yet, however. There was something much more important that needed doing. "I…I am grateful to you, my apprentice." She said. "I must confess that I did not expect much when we first met. I took you on only to assuage idle curiosities, but I must admit that I am glad to have met you. Truly."
He smiled, a slight nod given to her. "No point in thanking me really. I'm sure you've noticed but my energy isn't something you'll find in another." He admitted. "If you hadn't exposed yourself to me like that, I wouldn't have been much help to you."
He casually confirmed her label of him as some sort of anomaly, yet as customary with them, left it at that, no further explanation offered.
"Come now, don't tell me my dear apprentice is shy about accepting thanks from another?" Sellen questioned, smirk worming its way out. "You made the trip did you not? However things turned how that is reason enough to thank you, so be a good student and accept your teacher's gratitude. You may never get another chance like it."
He chuckled. "You're welcome then." He said before turning back around and dropping to a kneel, scrapping resumed. "So, what are you planning to do now?"
A good question.
She'd neither expected to remain within her actual body, obtain the freedom to move about freely so soon, or come to this far south in The Lands Between. There were some people she needed to track down but given how long she'd been imprisoned any information she had regarding them was severely outdated. Even if that weren't the case, getting to them would be no easy feat, especially not if things had only worsened in the world at large.
But those were big overarching goals. Her immediate concerns? Bath, food, and a safe enough place to get reacquainted, or perhaps acquainted with, what she was capable of in this youthful form.
"It seems I must make another request of you. If I'm not mistaken, the island you spoke of is the place you call home is it not? I would like to accompany you there." Sellen said. "Of course, this time I am able bodied, so this won't be a thankless request. I assume you were faced with marionettes when you came upon the ruins in which I was imprisoned?"
"Marionettes?" Onyx stopped his scrapping and took up the lantern placed beside him, holding it out towards a dark corner. "You mean those things?"
A pair of marionette soldiers sat in the corner. The metal caging acting as their armor, as well as the cloth below were ripped apart. The same went for their wooden bodies, various parts of their forms having been cut open, both clearly having been the victim of intense study.
"Never lose that inquisitive mind of yours, apprentice. Power is well and good but make no mistake, that is what will make you a truly excellent sorcerer." Sellen said, chuckling to herself. Watching him truly was nostalgic. She'd been severely reprimanded for much similar actions in her early days of study.
"These two are far too damaged for any attempts at repair to be worth the trouble. If you don't mind lugging behind others from the ruins, I should be able to get them back in working order once we reach this island of yours. They're simple but their tenacity and the little maintenance needed makes them effective guards for any place a sorcerer spends much of their time."
Onyx hummed as he lowered the lantern. "Not going to your study?"
"Come now, apprentice, my freedom changes nothing. That place and all within it belongs to you." Sellen explained, her amusement rising. "And, to be blunt, having others around to take care of the hunting, gathering, and all the other tedium that comes with surviving in the wilds will be convenient. Of course, I'll fight alongside you whenever the situation calls for it."
She was sure he'd accept. She'd have to borrow the staff she gave him, the location of her current one a mystery, but having a battle ready sorcerer to support him, constant access to her teachings should he want them, and the marionettes all made for a rather good deal.
She could never truly repay him for her freedom, but it was a start.
Not to mention there was no chance she'd let them go their separate ways just yet. Seizing the chance to properly study Onyx and his unique energy was a given.
"I suppose you'll be needing this then." Onyx said, her old staff removed from his waist and handed it over. "You'll have to rough it for a while in some old tents when we get back."
Sellen chuckled bitterly as she ran her fingers across the familiar metallic grooves of her staff. Only the stars knew how long she spent down in that accursed place.
Even a bed of grass was divine compared to all that.
XOXO
(A/N: Sorry for the late upload. Webnovel was down at the usual time I prep my post for the day and I had to head off to work. I'm still not home but I figured I'd just upload from my phone to see how it works. Forgive any formatting issues or anything along those lines. I'll fix it later in the day if that ends up being a problem.
You know what didn't go down and got their chapter on time?
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Sorry, sorry, bit of an opportunistic plug there but webnovel kind of gave me the perfect chance. Who am I to deny it? But seriously, check it out if you want to read like a little over two weeks ahead and give me some extra support/motivation. (10 chapters ahead)
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