Chapter 443 - The Department of Astral Cartography

Bit of a rough draft today. Check in tomorrow for the edited version.

Hump led the group through the fine marble halls of Elenvine Academy, the echo of their boots sharp against the stone. Students milled about in the corridors, but their idle chatter faltered as they caught sight of Wizard Charles, striding forward with unmistakeable purpose. Few greeted them. They must have sensed the same quiet anger in the man that Hump did. His robes flared behind him like a cloak of storm clouds, and the air buzzed faintly with restrained essence. His fists were clenched at his sides, and the farther they walked, the more tightly wound he became.

Eventually, he let out a sigh—half frustration, half resignation—and shook his head.

“I believe I already know who we’re looking for,” he said. “Wizard Menos Rekaran. His office is this way.”

“Who is he?” Emilia asked, keeping pace just behind Hump and Wizard Charles.

“A senior professor,” Wizard Charles replied. “His field is Astral Cartography. He maps the movement of neighbouring planes, tracks dimensional overlaps and thinning veils. Useful work, particularly when a realm strays too close to ours. Knowing where the boundaries weaken can mean the difference between a passing anomaly, a backyard summoning, and a full-on invasion.”

“A wizard of realms…” Emilia mused. “Such an expertise would explain how he successfully tracked Hump.”

“But would a professor have the connections to poison us at a party hosted in the palace?” Celaine asked.

“I believe he was in the Inquisition once,” Wizard Charles said. “There is no telling what secrets he collected over the years that would allow him to do such a thing, but I believe it. My surprise lies elsewhere. Menos always struck me as a quiet man—reserved, polite, well-liked by faculty and students. It is difficult to imagine him scheming with dark magics, let alone ambushing you in the streets.” He sighed again. “However, he does have the skills.” He glanced at Hump and raised an eyebrow. “Did you truly face him alone?”

Hump scratched the back of his head. “Alone is a stretch. I held him and his apprentice off long enough for Celaine to land a clean shot, and managed to get in a good hit myself. Nisha helped. I just did my best to keep them distracted.”

Charles gave a thoughtful hum. “Even so, to stand your ground against a Rank 6 wizard and an apprentice is no small feat.” He nodded slowly. “Then again, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. You are the Bearer of Infinity.”

The ease with which Wizard Charles said such things caught Hump off guard. He was so casual, as if it were a statement of fact that he should be able to do such a thing. Like he expected it. The quiet confidence stirred something inside Hump. Pride, maybe. Or perhaps it was simply gratitude at having a powerful figure that was on his side. Allies certainly made things easier.

They descended a narrow stairwell tucked at the end of a quiet corridor. The stone underfoot shifted to older flagstones, worn smooth by the passage of time. The walls narrowed. Essence stones glowed against ancient wood. The ring in Hump’s hand tugged as they reached the end of the hall, directing him unerringly toward a single door.

On it was a brass plaque that read: The Department of Astral Planes and Distant Places.

Hump turned to Wizard Charles. “Seems you were right.”

“Yes. This is Menos’ office.”

He stepped forward, raising his hand to knock, only to pause. Then turned back to the group.

“If I may,” he said quietly. “Please would the five of you wait in the doorway and leave dealing with Wizard Menos to me.”

“No need to worry about us,” Bud said. “Warlocks have become a bit of a specialty for us.”

“Not a specialty I’m particularly keen to continue working on,” Dylan added. “But he’s right. We’ve handled worse.”

“It is not that I doubt you,” Wizard Charles said. “Rather, this is a colleague of mine, and he has betrayed not only me, but everything we stand for at Elenvine Academy.” He turned to them, a glint of anger in his eye. “It’s personal.”

Bud nodded. “We’ll stand by. Just say the word if you need us.”

“I doubt I will.” Wizard Charles’ voice took on a different quality—calm, composed, and undeniably powerful. A flicker of golden essence shimmered around his shoulders like a mantle. The air in the hallway shifted, thickening with that same barely restrained force Hump sensed earlier. His blonde hair and beard gleamed like burnished gold. He seemed taller. Brighter. His presence overwhelming.

Emilia raised a brow. “Don’t kill him. We still need answers.”

Wizard Charles didn’t smile. “Oh, I want answers too—and I’m going to get them.”

With a flick of his wand the door handle turned, and the door swept open. Within, it revealed a modest office lined with bookshelves and a desk cluttered with scrolls and arcane instruments. A blackboard filled with various dots, circles, and lines covered the entirety of one wall, while piles of books lay on the ground and a few seats filled in the gaps between.

Seated at the desk was a middle-aged man, short-bearded, and well-dressed in wizard robes. He looked up, startled, his eyes flicking between Wizard Charles and then to Hump and his party in the hall.

“Charles?” he asked. “What’s going on here? Who are these people?”

Hump didn’t recognise his voice but the ring was tugging undoubtedly in his direction. It was him. It had to be. While he hadn’t caught the clearest look of his face, the beard matched, as did the build. He was sure.

Wizard Charles didn’t answer right away. He stepped inside with slow, deliberate steps. The aura around him surged, pressing against the room like a silent weight. Waves of power rolled off his form, thick enough that Hump could feel his own soul squirm at its intensity.

“Drop the veil, Menos,” Wizard Charles said softly. “I see it. I feel it.”

Menos stiffened. “Charles, I don’t know what—”

“Dispel,” Charles uttered, flickering his wand in a tight arc.

The room shimmered as the illusion shattered. Essence burst in a brief shockwave, sparks of light dissipating into the air, and then Menos’ illusion collapsed like smoke in a breeze. His skin peeled back like paper set alight, revealing the burned, broken man beneath—face twisted in pain, the flesh of his face charred, revealing the muscle beneath, fingers blackened by fire. But there was more. His eyes glowed faintly with a sickly green hue, and the threads of that power pulsed beneath the surface of his skin, crawling across his wounds like a living thing.

The wounds Hump remembered all too well from their battle last night.

Wizard Menos shot to his feet, right arm outstretched. Light shimmered, taking form, and a moment later his staff appeared, already shining with power. He roared and whirled it in Wizard Charles’ direction, a purple glow gathering in the focus.

“Enough,” Wizard Charles said, his voice a cold whisper but it shook Hump to the core of his being.

The room changed. The air warped, folding inward. Heat drained from the space. Even light dimmed. Colours faded, became desaturated. And then essence shone all around them in pale streaks, the winds of the world suddenly illuminated.

And then, essence expanded from Wizard Charles’ body like steam. Pale streaks of white and green filled the space around him—Soul Manifestation. But this didn’t scream or radiate might. It seeped outward like rising water, slow and inescapable, filling every corner of the room until there was nowhere left to breath.

The essence in Wizard Menos’ staff faded. His spell fell to pieces and the man glanced at his staff with wide eyed horror.

Wizard Charles’ expression didn’t shift. “What have you done to yourself, Menos?”

Menos called upon his magic again. The essence shone with power, essence moving to his will, and then… stopped. Faded to the wind.

The man breathed heavily, swaying. “I… I have become greater than any wizard,” he rasped. “I will be… eternal.”

“Do you feel greater than any wizard right now?” Wizard Charles asked. “Answer me! What did you do? You cannot hide the stain on your soul. Not from me. Not in my domain.”

Menos said nothing, but the hatred in his eyes burned hotter than any flame. He looked ready to try something—anything—but Wizard Charles didn’t give him the chance.

“If you will not talk to me, I will hand you over to Aldric,” Wizard Charles said.

Menos stiffened. “Wait. I’ll talk. Just… don’t hand me over to him.”

“Then drop your staff and speak.”

The silence stretched thin. Hump shifted his stance, ready for a fight, but eventually Menos relented. His staff fell to the ground with a thud, his shoulders sagged, the fight leaving the man.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Menos muttered. “You have to understand, Charles. I didn’t mean for it to turn out this way.” He jabbed a finger in Hump’s direction. “Do you know what he is? What he possesses?” He thumped a fist against his chest hard enough to make him wince. His eyes filled with pain—agony even. Not physical, but the torment within. “You can see it, can’t you? What’s happened to me? Look at me!”

“I see the shadows on your soul, but that is all. What… who were they?”

Menos clutched his head. “He could fix me. The book has the answers. I can be whole again.”

“Who are they?” Wizard Charles asked again, louder this time. Still now answer. “Are you behind Torvik’s disappearance?”

At that, Menos stiffened. His eyes darted, not toward Wizard Charles this time, but toward the back of the office where there was a second door.

“Hump, check it out,” Charles said.

Hump moved immediately, crossing the room in a few long strides. He grabbed the handle and tried it. locked.

“Bud!” he called.

The knight stepped up without hesitation. He grabbed the handle and Frostfire poured from his palm, snaking into the seams. Ice crystalised on the surface. The metal turned brittle under the chill. With a sharp tug, Bud snapped the lock, and the door swung open.

Inside was a dark room. The air was heavy with the scent of dust, and thick with an essence that felt unfamiliar to Hump. Runes glimmered on the stone walls—wards half-broken or barely holding—casting eerie, pulsating reflections across the chamber. Chains clattered softly in the silence, trailing from manacles bolted into the floor. In the centre sat a figure slumped in a chair.

In the centre, slumped in a chair, sat a figure.

“Ah! Wizard Humphrey,” the man said, raising his head with surprising cheer. “What a pleasant surprise.”

Hump’s heart jumped. “Wizard Torvik!”

Despite his pale face and worn clothes, the old wizard still had that same spark in his eyes. His tone was dry, but amused, as if they’d just run into each other in the hallway.

“Are you alright?” Hump asked, rushing forward.

“Oh, quite well, lad,” Torvik said. “A bit stiff, perhaps, but Menos was a… gracious host, all things considered.”

Hump turned toward the office. “He’s alive, Charles! He’s alright.”

The rest of the party crowded into the chamber behind Hump. Their eyes swept over the walls.

“What is this place?” Dylan asked quietly, stepping closer to one of the glowing sigils.

“Hump?” Celaine probed. “This looks like magic stuff.”

“Nothing I know of,” Hump said as he moved to a central wall where a circular symbol pulsed softly. He reached out and laid his hand against it.

It was a map. Their world—depicted in lines of silver essence, surrounded by dozens—perhaps hundreds—of other worlds.

And at the top, etched in shimmering gold, hung a radiant rune. Twelve strands connected it to the mortal realm, but only one remained bright with gold light.

“Wizard Charles, you should take a look at this,” Hump called.

The wizard stepped into the doorway and peered inside. His eyes narrowed.

“What is this, Menos?” Wizard Charles asked.

“The veil between worlds is so thin now,” Menos said. “So many realms are converging. There is no stopping it now. There is only surviving.”

Hump stormed back into the other room, staring down at the frail, wounded wizard. “What does that mean? What will happen when they converge?”

“You don’t know?” Menos started to chuckle, only for it to turn into a raspy cough. “Eleven of the Seals are broken. Soon, the Path to Heaven shall be revealed, and when it is, they shall descend.”

“The seal will stand,” Bud growled.

Menos just shook his head. “The fate of Elenvine is sealed. The Order of Ancients is already here. It is no longer a matter of stopping it.”