Chaos & Order: Dawn of Chaos

Chapter 4

A week later, Athelia was in her new lair which was in a cave in the hill under her parents' house. Athelia had made a wooden decking for most of the cave floor, and there was a small pool of water in a corner. A few crystals grew on the rocks around the pool, and vines grew from the ceiling in places around the edges of the cave. Athelia had put a small bed in part of the cave that was more hidden, and crates and chests had been placed in the corner near the entrance.

Standing over her new cauldron, Athelia added a sprinkle of marigold leaves to the boiling orange mixture before stirring it with a wooden spoon. Looking back at the book, even though she had done it many times before, Athelia double-checked to make sure she had done it right.

"What are you doing?" Asked Odelius, appearing at the entrance of the cave.

Jumping, Athelia screeched and placed her hand over her heart before glaring at Odelius. As Odelius smirked mischievously, Athelia watched as he walked over to a chest the other side of the cave and threw the lid open. Before Athelia could stop him, Odelius was rummaging through the contents and pulled out one of her books.

"These books are awfully advanced for you." Odelius stated before throwing the book back in the chest.

"Come with me." Odelius spoke as he walked back to the entrance of the cave, "I have some books you can have, and I wanted to show you something anyway."

Watching Odelius leave the cave, Athelia hesitated for a moment before following.

Hearing the crunch of stones beneath her feet, Athelia felt the warm sun beaming down on them. As they crossed a bridge, Athelia looked across the river to where a great oak tree stood. The tree was the largest in the city, and the area surrounding the tree thrived. Flowers of all colours bloomed, and small creatures scurried in the grass.

Seeing Odelius walk off the path as they neared the tree, Athelia stopped and watched as Odelius quickly looked around. Once he saw no one else was there, Odelius placed his hand on the tree and sent mana flowing into it. Athelia could see his cosmic purple mana flowing around his hand as it entered the tree. Seeing what was happening, Athelia tilted her head slightly, unsure what Odelius was doing.

As Odelius walked back over, Athelia quickly asked, "What were you doing?"

Odelius hesitated, but answered, "It's good to have a store of mana for emergencies."

***

Odelius's house was the closest house to the castle and stood at the top of the stairs that rose from the main square. A short staircase led down to a small courtyard in front of the house where the front door was. The house was four stories. The ground floor was smaller and only had a welcoming room, while the other floors were larger as they overhung the front of the house. The first floor had a kitchen and dining space, the second floor had a guest room and reading area while the third floor had a seating area and Odelius's room.

As they stepped into the house Odelius spoke, "Welcome to my home."

"It's lovely." Athelia smiled politely.

Hearing a meow, Athelia watched as a fluffy grey cat came running down the staircase. As the cat strutted up to Athelia, it sniffed her feet before walking away again.

"That is Eagle." Odelius spoke, watching as the cat ran back up the stairs.

"Remember my lair in the cave?" Odelius asked, standing next to the stone wall by the stairs.

"Yes, why?" Athelia replied, unsure how it was relevant.

As Odelius touched a stone on the wall, part of the wall behind him moved away to reveal his lair. Athelia stared in amazement while Odelius smiled smugly. Removing his hand from the wall, Odelius walked up the stairs while the wall moved back into place. As Athelia hurried after Odelius, she ran up two flights of stairs to find him waiting in the hallway.