CRYSTALLUM LOST DREAMS | Fantasy Novel |

Chapter 14

"Master, I need to talk to you," Camiel said, once they had descended the stairs.

Hyon had put a small kettle on the fire and was watching it smoke.

"Tea?" he asked without turning around. "Amanastrian selection."

"Thank you," replied the man. He took a seat and placed his sword on the wooden table. "Do you remember..." he touched the hilt, the contact with that familiar surface gave him a sense of security, "...do you remember when you told me that there is always an explanation behind what seems impossible?"

"Well, yes...you were still young and insecure."

"I don't think you said that lightly at the time."

Hyon turned around and went to the cupboard to retrieve a jar filled with biscuits. "Camiel, I never speak lightly, you should know that," he replied. "What do you want to tell me?" He narrowed his eyes and looked at him intently.

"A short while ago, I sensed a large amount of Seorite in the province of Lud, the same one that the Kharzanians are looking for," Camiel said.

Hyon sat down and his eyebrows furrowed into a thick brush.

Camiel lowered his voice and said, "It was such a significant amount that it woke me up during the night. Let me be clear, I wasn't meditating, nor was I using the Voice of the Soul." He crossed his arms. "And the day after, I immediately began to investigate..."

Hyon glanced briefly at the kettle. "What did you find?"

"At first, nothing. But during the attack on Lud, I witnessed something strange." He brought a hand up to stroke his chin. "I encountered a being that had little to do with a human, a being capable of bringing Edel's soldier to its knees with a single gesture." Camiel frowned, the events of the orphanage still fresh in his mind.

Hyon brought his hands together. "It must have been a skilled user of the stones."

"No, master. I had never witnessed anything like it. It was made of smoke and shrouded in darkness, its eyes were white flickering flames." He paused to search the master's expression for confirmation that he wasn't crazy. "I know it may sound insane, I understand that. But before disappearing, it spoke of the Sun and the Stars. And it pointed me in the exact direction to find the boys," he continued. "It's Cora that the Kharzanians are looking for...I'm sure of it. I believe that he's behind all that Seorite."

Hyon narrowed his expression in the darkness of the room.

The lid of the kettle bounced up and down, and wisps of steam twisted in the air. "The tea..." said Camiel.

The master nodded and went to get it. He filled two thick-bottomed glasses and threw in a handful of chopped leaves.

Camiel took a sip and turned back to the old man. "It seems that, by pure chance, that boy has acquired the ability to regenerate Seorite stones."

"Wha-" The master contorted himself into a funny posture, swallowed the hot drink, coughed slightly, and leaned in. Camiel watched him stoically. "I repeat. Cora is capable of regenerating Seorite..."

Hyon regained his composure and took a deep breath. "If I didn't know you, I'd say that's a big lie."

"I would never dare to lie to you... I can prove it."

The master held back a chuckle. "Are you saying he can emulate the Pact Rite?"

"I'm almost certain of it." Camiel remained still under the scrutiny of the man he respected as a father. He knew the old man was waiting for proof that it was just a strange joke.