Witches of Mellgrah

The council room was buzzing with tension. Central figures of all governing bodies of Amellan joined to discuss an emerging matter that caused the recent eruption of panic at the Academy.

Seated were the town's officials and aldermen, respected professors, and key personnel such as the Captain of Night's Guard, the Warriors' Coach, and High Priestess Kiana with her representatives, all waiting for the main figure, Amanda Lefebvre, the esteemed Headmistress of Amellan Academy and the dignified Rectoress of Academia, to open the meeting.

The room fell into order as her arrival commanded attention. As soon as she took her seat, the meeting's agenda was brought up. Months prior, a corrupted beast had attacked near the town, leaving students injured. Now, these students were exhibiting strange latent symptoms, and their magical abilities were being called into question.

A priestess, dutifully assisting Lady Kiana, stepped forward to summarize the disconcerting report. "Several students had come forward for evaluations, and three were found to have diminished powers," she announced.

The revelation stirred the room, triggering a wave of discontent. Accusations ricocheted across the room, faulting those responsible for their inaction during the early stages of the incident.

Tensions escalated as concerns were raised about the students' futures. Would their powers continue to wane? Would they be discarded in the slums after the Academy had failed to protect them? Nothing of this magnitude had occurred before, and the priestesses had no idea how to recommend a treatment.

Questions arose about the academy's response and the potential panic that may ensue. Three students had their magical ability affected, but what about those who were vocal about the supposed bizarre occurrences, developing delusions and rising suspicions of mental health decline?

However, the air thickened as Lady Kiana introduced a new, startling concern.

She firmly stated an undeniable truth that the recent attack, unprecedented in its nature, had infected the students with an unknown malady. With the absence of any expert on the corrupted beasts, she warned of the potential danger of these students morphing into new corrupted monsters.

The room plunged into shock. "Are you suggesting that the students could turn into one of those monstrosities?" a voice quivered.

Lady Kiana nodded grimly. She expressed her concerns about one student in particular who was deteriorating at an alarming rate. "Not only is their magical ability impaired, but they are possibly rotting on physical and mental levels—as if something is eating away at their very soul."

The room broke into a chaotic clamour.

"What are we to do?" a voice cried out above the noise.

Lady Kiana, however, was not there to provide solutions but to warn about the imminent danger of a new corrupted beast emerging in a densely populated area, within these very walls that ward them from danger. Her words struck a chord of fear, causing an uproar among the council members.

Addressing the Captain of the Night's Guard, a member asked, "Are we equipped to handle a crisis of this magnitude?"

He responded with a grimace, "Night's Guard is ill-equipped for such a task. We could barely hold off the beast during the first attack."

"You mean, you did nothing but stand on the sidelines until Lady Kiana came to the aid!" a voice retorted.

"This is an impossible task for the Guard," he insisted. "Engaging a corrupted beast is a risk too great to take. This is a problem for the priestesses to solve."

The room erupted in a clamour, sparking a heated argument about responsibility and blame. The priestesses accused the Night' Guard of shirking responsibility, and the professors bickered amongst themselves.

"If my predictions are correct," Lady Kiana began with a firm voice, attempting to bring back order, "the student is already marked with the malevolent energy that gives birth to corrupted beasts. Because the vessel is human, we must anticipate enhanced intelligence and mobility, capable of wreaking havoc on an unprecedented scale."

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A palpable dread filled the room. "Are we prepared to deal with the casualties when such a calamity strikes?" one voice quavered.

"We must circumvent that future," another person interjected, "We cannot wait for the problem to manifest itself."

"But what of the student?" a third voice asked, "Are we to unjustly lock up or even exile an innocent student?"

Lady Kiana sighed with a heavy heart. "If we wait until the problem emerges, it will already be too late."

"But Lady Kiana, how do we deal with this crisis?" another voice inquired, full of uncertainty.

Lady Kiana pressed her lips together, hesitating. "The only solution I can conceive is to face it with fire…"

Gasps and murmurs echoed through the room.

"Are you suggesting…" A professor put her hand to her mouth.

"Preposterous!" another exclaimed, "Are we to revert to medieval times and burning people alive?"

"Only as a last resort!" Lady Kiana raised her voice through the clamour. "We must first seek expertise on the matter."

"But there are no experts!" someone protested.

Amid the tumult, a powerful voice finally resonated. "Enough!" Amanda silenced the room.

She rose, her stern presence commanding attention.

"The issue has been unveiled, and we will exert all our efforts to prevent such an atrocious event from becoming history," she declared. "The student in question will be put under close observation, and in the meantime, we will find a solution."

Then she closed her eyes and took a slow, steadying breath before lifting her chin.

"We have risen from far greater challenges. Let us not surrender to fear."

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Maya tottered through the academy, gazing through the aged glass panes at the already waning sunlight. She cursed inwardly at the short winter days. She'd never had any qualms with the season before—in fact, she greatly enjoyed the coziness of reading by the fire or playing outside in the snow.

Since mankind invented the lightbulb, the shortness of days was offset, and tasks that couldn't be performed without natural light had almost ceased to exist. However, there were creatures that thrived only when sunlight was absent, making the working hours of those who guarded against them highly inflexible.

'Will I have to make peace with not seeing him during weekdays?'

Hers and Erik's schedules were impossible to sync up in these conditions. She was obliged to attend the academy during the few daylight hours, and he was overseeing the safety of the town during abundant dark hours.

'Being a hunter must be an especially daunting job during winter…'

Maya gazed out of the window, looking at the thick clouds veiling the sky. It seemed like it could snow soon. Sighing, moved to return to her class, but suddenly bumped into a person.

"Ah, sorry," she shrank back, a jerk reaction from her past experiences telling her that bumping into someone in the academy hallways was never good.

Strange shivers ran up her spine. Lifting her head, her gaze met with the person she had collided with, and she realized it was a senior student.

Although she didn't remember interacting with him before, a strange familiarity struck her, and she continued to stare at him, gears spinning in her head.

Then her whole face flushed as she remembered why he was familiar. He was the stranger she had seen a bit too much of when she'd accidentally interrupted a portrait-making session a while back.

"L-Larsen, was it?" She couldn't look him in the eye since the images flashed inside her mind. "H-how is Beth?"

The portrait was intended as a gift for his girlfriend. It was astonishing how her brain could recall such minor details when she was feeling embarrassed.

"Ah…" he must've felt a little awkward as well, "We broke up."

"Then what happened to the portrait?" Maya blurted out.

He looked away. It seemed he'd rather not specify. What could happen to a nude portrait of your partner after a breakup?

Pushing the awkward exchange aside, she took a quick glance at him. He seemed somewhat out of sorts, his eyes failing to retain focus. As they parted ways, a lingering sense of unease clung to Maya.

As he passed her by, she glimpsed through her Soul Vision and almost audibly gasped.

Larsen's elemental core was 'bleeding'.

Maya had never witnessed anything like this. The elemental core sat in the centre of his chest, as always, but jagged cracks ran deep through it—almost resembling a shattered orb. Streams of the faint glow that elemental energy took in her Soul Vision leaked through the fissures like blood from a wound. The damage resembled Erik's ruined core, but instead of an old, dormant scar, Larsen's was an open, festering wound—raw and weeping.

The pieces fell into place with sickening clarity. Larsen was one of the senior Air students who had competed in the relay race—one of those caught in the corrupted beast's attack.

A sense of urgency gripped her. Instead of returning to class, Maya found herself rushing towards the academy gardens.