Remus Refuses to See Maxine, Told So by the Fairy Queen. Maxine Asks About Her Items But

Remus refuses to see Maxine, told so by the fairy queen. Maxine asks about her items but queen says they have been taken.

Maxine asks the fairy queen for advice as the queen is leading her around. Maeve says she could do no better, but gives her a place where her and her friends can train in relative safety. A lot of fairies join to have some giggles.

Rei gets angry about this and even chews into Maeve for having let Maxine into this part of D’yalia, but Maeve says that Drakkar is welcomed anywhere. Tells Maxine that Morkoth is on his way. Maxine tries again to plead with Rei, but he’s not listening and again refuses.Maxine wonders why Rei is wearing her sword and he answers back because it’s too painful for Remus.

Alain attacks that night and Remus saves her. Agrees to give her lessons finally.

In practice maybe includes a prayer to time to get his attention and he comes in and smacks her?

MYSTERIUM!!!!!!!!!!

Chapter 9

D’yalia was everything Maxine had ever imagined. It was nothing short of incredible. The three of them were guided through the halls with Maeve as their hostess, no less, which was just as incredible. The castle felt like it wanted to do everything to bring the outside, inside. Trees grew in the middle of halls, vines climbed up walls, and there was strange glowing fungi hanging down from the ceiling. Fairies buzzed past them, most barely an inch or two tall, but there were more that preferred to be human-sized. If it weren’t for their strange squinty eyes and pointed ears and traces of different colored veins glowing through their skin Maxine might have associated them with possibly being elves.

Humans rarely ever stepped foot inside of D’yalia. Knowing this she did her best to absorb it all in, but her mind refused to cooperate. It constantly returned back to the issue of meeting with Elemental Remus, and then the loss of her amulet.

“I do apologize, Lord Drakkar,” Maeve said in soothing tones, running her elongated fingers down Maxine’s braid. “I will have my attendants beseech Lord Remus once again,” she promised.

A shiver traveled up her back and she felt a little queasy with the touch. Wincing she side stepped attempting to place Kriss in between her and the fairy queen. One of the peculiarities of the queen was that she just couldn’t seem to keep her hands to herself.

Amar leaned into her and whispered, a smirk on his face. “I think someone had a crush on Drakkar that never ended.”

Maxine groaned wanting to bury her face in her hand. “Yeah,” she whispered back, “and I don’t think she particularly cares that I’m not male.”

Amar leaned back with an evil smile on his face. “I dunno about you, but I’m enjoying my stay in D’yalia so far.”

“Want me to give you another shiner?” she threatened curling her fist.

Queen Maeve’s voice pulled her attention away from the warlock and back to the situation at hand. “I have a feeling, Lord Drakkar, that you are really going to like this next location,” she said airily.

A moment later they turned a corner and passed under through hanging moss into another room. Maxine stopped short caught off guard by what she was seeing. It was a large open room, big enough that it could have fit two of her school’s dining halls inside. She could even make out a second floor that lined the walls all around, massive staircases leading upwards. It was packed with fairies and strange instruments, many of which she had seen her school’s classrooms for like potions experiments and some that measure a spell’s potency. There were bookshelves everywhere and large desks. The most impressive of it all, though, was the ceiling. It was if someone had brought the night sky inside and splashed it up on the ceiling. She could see thousands of stars, a large full moon, and even watched as she witness a shooting star streak across for just a breadth of a moment.

“Holy…” Amar said, his voice trailing off, the awe in his voice very unlike him. He was the first to rush in, spinning around with a boyish delight, his robes spinning, as he took in everything. “I thought Aunt Alain’s magic labs were impressive, but this… this is incredible.”

Maxine followed in after him feeling out of her element, confused by all of the different things she was looking at. Even Kriss was gaping around in silent awe. He rushed past her and joined Amar, the two of them gaping at a strange contraption on a table that was a tangled mess of glass beakers, tubes, and vials. A strange green liquid flowed through the instruments from one beaker and went through a series of steam puffs until it arrived red in another beaker.

“We call it the Mysterium,” Maeve said beside her, an obvious pride in her voice. “You helped us make it so that we could advance our studies into all kinds of magics. After your Fall you came here often.”

She could understand why. The Threads in the room were alive, humming and vibrating excitedly. It was almost as if they were singing. The activity of it all was intoxicating to her. The hairs on her skin stood up and a strange energy filled her.

Suddenly Amar was in front of her again. He reached out and grabbed her hand and pulled her after him excitedly, running to another table. “You gotta see this,” he said excitedly. “Come on, Weaver, this has got to be the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen.” He stopped at one table and explained what it was doing, pointing out different parts in the process, stopping from time to time to figure out a part that he didn’t understand. She didn’t have the heart to tell them that most of his explanation went a bit over her head.

A series of bed lined up against one wall caught her attention, all of them filled with fairies who were fast asleep. “What are they doing?” she asked.

“Fairies specialize in sleep magic,” he said. “All of the experiments and spells in this room are about sleep.”

“They are exploring the Dream Scape,” Maeve explained further, rejoining them. “It was one of your favorite pastimes. You would come down here and sleep for hours. In your dreams you have full control and are able to do anything and everything.”

She wrinkled her nose at it. She couldn’t imagine what draw it might have had for Drakkar, but it held little interest for her. What was the point of sleeping your life away visiting delusions and things that weren’t real? There was enough mystery for her in the real world. Besides, what was the point when in the end you simply woke up.

She turned and pointed at something else she found. A large spot on the floor had been drawn on with white circles and looked as if it had been carefully sectioned off away from the rest of the room. “Is that a magic circle?” she asked, walking over to it.

Amar and Kriss joined her. “Very good, Weaver,” Amar said his voice a sarcastic droll. “A+. Next week’s lesson: prayers and chants.”

She punched his upper arm lightly. “Knock it off. I’ve never seen one before. I could never get my wand to work.”

It was ethereal looking. A five pointed start was drawn in the middle with runes surrounding it, and then an outer ring that contained five other smaller circles with other designs drawn into them, and then more runes and another outer ring with more circles.

“This is an illegal spell,” Kriss gasped rushing over to it. He pointed down at one of the symbols. “This is Elemental Remus’s symbol.”

“Illegal spell?” she asked, walking over to it and looking down at it.

“All magic circles start the same,” Kriss explained. “The star and the first outer ring. Normally there’s only four symbols, though. It’s a prayer to the upper tier of Elementals: Aurora, Gaea, Persephone, and Poseidon. But this one has five. Normally you never include Elemental Remus in magic.”

“It is a spell that uses the power of time,” Maeve explained joining them.

“And attempting to use time magic is forbidden,” Amar said, crossing his arms.

“Correct,” Maeve agreed. “Lord Remus himself made this spell specifically for Lord Drakkar’s use.”

A shiver went through her. “For Drakkar? What does it do?”

Kriss pointed to another symbol on another outer ring. “This is the symbol of Elemental Iasa. It has healing attributes.” He looked up at Maeve. “It speeds up the healing process,” he said.

Maeve nodded her head. “Correct, young one. Many was the time that Lord Remus would arrive at my gates, carrying Lord Drakkar in his arms, bloodied and dying, and lay him on this magic circle to heal him. Those were always dark and anxious days.”

Maxine felt ill imagining that. That was never mentioned in the Legends. They always portrayed him as supreme and able to conquer the demons he fought easily. Clearly the truth was something else entirely.

“So magic circles do work for me?” she asked after a moment. “I thought magic circles worked on the same principles of wands and other channelers. Prayers and chants, too. If you’re magical there’s something about your soul or something that stops it from working.”

“It wasn’t you working the spell,” Maeve said. “It was Lord Remus who needed it to heal you. But you are not mistaken. Magic circles and wands will not work for you, but in your case it’s not because there’s something in your soul that stops it. You don’t have a soul, for one thing.”

Amar who was standing beside her jumped at the words and took a hasty step back, gaping at her. “What do you mean she doesn’t have a soul?” he asked, looking her over. “She looks normal to me.”

Maxine felt horrified by this sudden revelation. Suddenly she felt hollow and strange, and she instinctively reached up to her heart. She had no soul? What did that even mean? W-was she even human?!

“Elementals do not have souls,” Maeve explained. “An Elemental is a mass of their element given mortal form by the world. They are the protectors of their element and the world’s guardian. This is why Drakkar could be reincarnated. When he died, he returned to his element. The world had to re-amass him and give him human form again, but this could not be done as simply due to the loss of your wings, so he had to be born.”

“I… don’t… have a soul…” she said softly. “So, you’re saying I’m just pure magic?”

“Haven’t you felt energized the moment that you walked into this room? If something were to happen and you were somehow cut off from magic you would die.”

Amar stared at her and then up at his pole. “S-should I keep this thing away from her? It draws magic out of the air and stores it.”

Maeve favored him with a patient smile. “Do not fear. There is enough magic in the air that the meager spell on your pole would never be a threat to her.”

She turned back to the magic circle and stared at it. “So I couldn’t get a wand to work in school not because I was a Vacant but because I had no soul,” she said, goose bumps raising on her skin.

“Oh, no, you misunderstand,” Maeve said hastily. “Magic circles and wands will not work for you not because you do not have a soul but because –“

“- Elementals do not pray to other Elementals,” a deep guttural voice cut in.

All three heads looked up in surprise to find a startling sight. The woods guide Rei was laid up against the wall a few feet away. He raised a nearly empty bottle up to his lips and took a long drink. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and looked around at them with a glare. “Think about it, kitten. You aren’t goin’ to pray to your brother and sister for help. Elementals don’t bow or scrape to one ‘nother. ‘Sides, look at the middle of that circle. Tell me what it is.”

Frowning Maxine turned back to the circle and looked. “You mean the star?”

“Yeah. What is it?” he asked getting to his feet.

“What do you mean ‘what is it?’” she shot back at him, her anger at the man already starting to come flooding back. “It’s Drakkar’s symbol.”

“Right. It’s a prayer to the Elemental of Magic for his power. Channeler or prayer or chant, they all start the same way. They are asking for your power. You tryin’ to use a magic circle is just you praying to yourself.Ridiculous. A waste of time.” He pointed to her and turned to Maeve. “What the hell is she doin’ here? I thought Elemental Remus’s orders were clear.”

Maeve’s eyes narrowed. “This is not Lord Remus’s house. It is mine. I may respect his personal desires but I will not bend to his will. Lord Drakkar is welcome to roam these halls.”

“She is not Drakkar,” Rei said, his voice low and threatening.”

“I am well aware of what the child is and is not.”

A long period of silence stretched out between the two of them, their eyes never leaving each other. Maxine felt extremely uncomfortable and fidgeted in the silence. A part of her wanted to speak up and agree with Rei on this matter, but another part of her did not want anything to do with the drunk, and definitely did not want to support him in any way.

Her eyes lowered and settled on something else instead that took her a moment to realize what it was that she was looking at – and that more importantly she recognized it. “Hey, that’s my sword,” she announced, both surprised and excited. Her sword Shion was hanging from Rei’s belt.

She took a step towards it, at the same time he reflexively grabbed the hilt and stepped back. Her excitement turned to alarm. Her eyes rose back up to his face. “That’s mine,” she said, her temper already starting to flare again.

“No, it’s not. It’s property of Elemental Remus. He created it.”

“And do you have my necklace, too?” she demanded.

“Perhaps,” was all that he answered, flicking back a stray lock of hair that had fallen in his eyes.

“And just what the hell are you doing with them?” Amar demanded.

Rei pointed upwards to the second floor. “There’s a storage closet up there Remus asked me to place ‘em in. It just hasn’t made it yet. I was goin’ to finish putting ‘em up there once I’d had a few drinks and taken a brief nap.”

She balled her fists at her sides. “Elemental Remus refuses to see me, but he will tolerate a drunken piece of filth like you.”

“Watch. Your. Tongue. Girl,” he said slowly, emphasizing each word.

“Look, if you don’t want to give me back the sword, that’s fine, whatever, but at least give me back the necklace.”

“And why exactly should I waste my time doin’ that?”

“Elemental Aurora gave that to me! It’s how the Elementals are keeping me in check. But more importantly it also does something to keep my powers in check.”

Rei’s eyes clouded over in confusion and he gave her a baffled look. “W-what? Aurora said it did what?”

“Keeps my powers in check! That’s what Brother told me she said when he gave it to me. I’m not supposed to ever take it off.”

“No, you got it confused. It doesn’t –“ he started to say, shaking his head, but then stopped. “You know what, no. Forget it.” He reached into his pocket and pulled it out and threw it in her direction. “I don’t have time for you, girl.”

She caught it neatly out of the air and pulled it back over her head. “Wait, do you know something about this that I don’t?” she asked, looking up to find that Rei was already starting to head away.

“Nevermind,” he said over his shoulder. “Forget I said anythin’, kitten.”

“But –“

He spun around on his heel, his face a mask of fury. “I said leave it alone! You don’t belong here, girl. I’ve already sent a letter out to the Brotherhood that’s lookin’ for you. They should be here within a couple of days.”

A cold chill went through her. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “No! I’m not leaving until I see Elemental Remus. I don’t care if the Sorcerers show up to try to drag me off. I nearly died trying to see him.”

“That’s your stupidity, girl. I told you not to just run into the woods.”

“I don’t give a damn what you think of me,” she shouted. “I’ve got something very important to ask him.”

“Go find someone else that will help you play hero, girl,” he said starting away again.