Phantasia

“This is too complicated,” said Phantasia with a sigh, “Why can’t we just, I dunno, warp between planes or something?”

“Even the Queens cannot do that,” said Faye, “At most, all we ethereal beings can do is transfer ourselves along the elemental currents of the leylines, and even our Queens can only travel so far in an instant. Had we the power to teleport wherever we wanted, from any plane to any other, the world would be a far different place,”

“Right,” said Phantasia, doing her best to absorb as much of Faye’s overwhelming knowledge as she could, “So about this castle then…”

“We are at a leyline node, where the walls between the planes are weakest, making it the perfect place to create a gateway to the Underworld, with this fringe plane acting as a checkpoint,” said Faye, “As you have already noticed, the castle has been constructed to act as a giant magic circle, but such power would not be needed to maintain a simple gateway, as evidenced by the fact that we have already passed through such a gate.

“Therefore it is reasonable to deduct that this castle is designed for manifestation, allowing previously ethereal entities to walk the Outerworld in physical bodies should a sufficient sacrifice be presented. This correlates with the information contained in the library. The path we have used to reach this plane was safeguarded to prevent demonic invasion,”

“Was?”

“Indeed. The door connecting the study to the tower on which we stand was protected by sealing magic – as was the study itself and the connecting catacomb. By breaking these seals, you have effectively opened a direct passage between the Outerworld and the Underworld,”

“I thought it was keeping me out!” cried Phantasia.

“Negative. The seals were designed to keep demons out,”

Phantasia cringed at her curiosity and ignorance. The idea that the seals were keeping demons in, rather than keeping people out, has never occurred to her. She’d been too desperate to uncover lost secrets and unearth buried treasures that she’d paid no attention to the blatant warnings around her.

“It is foolish to berate yourself over this incident,” said Faye, “I am certain that there are alternative routes into this chamber. You yourself have noticed the activity below, have you not?”

“Yeah, I can kinda see auras moving about,” said Phantasia, struggling to beat back a self-berating frown, “Some human, some not. And there was that golem too…”

“Indeed, all of which points to an alternative entrance. Judging from the limited thoughts I can pick up through the mists of corruption, and from the evidence we have already uncovered, I can surmise that someone is preparing a powerful summoning,”

“What’re we gonna do then? We can’t just let them bring something big and nasty into the Outerworld!”

“I would suggest we inform Rembrandt Payne and SEELIE of this discovery. It is probable that, given the circumstances, they will be able to act in a timely manner.”

“What, so you mean we should just give up and go home and leave this with a bunch of adults who couldn’t even protect the Academy from a single golem?”

“Indeed. Remember that they were taken off-guard by the golem. Working with the information we have secured, and with ample time to prepare, I believe they can deal with this situation. I understand that you would rather deal with this yourself, but it is my duty to inform you that your powers are not up to the task and to put yourself at risk would be an unreasonable choice of action.”

“And yes,” she added, “I understand that I am boring.”

***

Chapter 43
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