Rae van Daleon – The Roots of the Storm
by Lea von Löwenstein
Chapter 29: Two More Missing
The tension in the Scola was palpable, like a heavy fog settling over the ancient halls. The students whispered in hushed tones, their words barely audible over the relentless echoes of footsteps and the faint hum of machinery. Fear gripped the novices, and it wasn’t long before the rumors started to spread.
Two more students were missing.
Rae stood near the edge of the training yard, her arms crossed as she listened to the murmurs. Celestine, Marcus, Tyren, and Soren gathered close, their faces mirroring her grim expression.
“They’re saying it happened last night,” Tyren muttered, his cogitator in hand. “No one saw anything. They just… vanished.”
“Like Talia,” Soren whispered, his voice trembling.
Rae’s jaw tightened. “No. Not like Talia. This is different.”
“How can you be sure?” Marcus asked, his deep voice steady but edged with concern.
Rae looked around, ensuring no one was close enough to overhear. “Talia left clues. She was taken because she found something. These two… this feels more like a message.”
Celestine raised an eyebrow. “A message? From who? The cultists?”
“Who else?” Rae replied. “They know someone’s interfering. The sabotage last night didn’t just disrupt their ritual—it put a target on our backs.”
The Disappearance
The missing students weren’t just novices—they were older, more experienced. The kind of students who wouldn’t vanish without a fight. That fact alone sent a chill through Rae. If the cultists could take them, what chance did anyone else have?
“Their chambers were untouched,” Tyren added, scrolling through a report he’d intercepted from the maintenance logs. “No signs of a struggle. It’s like they just walked out and never came back.”
“They were probably lured,” Marcus said. “That’s how cultists work. Promises of power, of something greater. They prey on fear and ambition.”
“Or they were dragged,” Celestine said flatly. “Let’s not pretend they had a choice.”
Rae’s mind raced. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the disappearances were connected to the ritual. The cultists were regrouping, and they were using the students as pawns—or worse.
A Growing Divide
As the day wore on, the atmosphere in the Scola became more tense. The instructors avoided questions about the missing students, their silence only fueling the rumors. Some novices were convinced the disappearances were part of a test, a cruel lesson designed to break their spirits. Others believed the Scola itself was cursed, its depths hiding horrors beyond comprehension.
Alric approached Rae during a break in training, his usual smug confidence replaced by unease. “This is getting out of hand,” he said quietly. “People are scared. If the Inquisition shows up now, they’ll tear this place apart.”
“They haven’t responded yet,” Rae replied, her voice low. “And even if they do, we can’t rely on them to fix this.”
Alric frowned. “So what’s your plan? Wait for more people to go missing?”
“No,” Rae said firmly. “We act. But carefully. We need to find out what the cultists are planning before they make their next move.”
The Team’s Fracture
Back in their chamber, the group sat in a tense circle, their faces illuminated by the dim glow of Tyren’s cogitator. Rae explained her theory, her voice steady but urgent.
“The disappearances are a message,” she said. “The cultists want to scare us, make us feel powerless. But they’re also buying time—time to regroup, time to rebuild the ritual.”
Soren shifted uncomfortably. “And what if they’re not just using the missing students as a message? What if they’re… sacrifices?”
Celestine’s eyes darkened. “Then we’re already running out of time.”
Marcus leaned forward, his tone measured. “We can’t rush into this. The sabotage last night worked, but we were lucky. If we go back down there without a plan, we might not come back.”
Tyren nodded. “I’ve been digging through the Scola’s logs. There are sections of the lower levels we haven’t explored yet—areas even the cultists might not know about. If we can find another way into the chamber, we might gain the upper hand.”
The Tipping Point
As the group discussed their next steps, a sharp knock at the door made them all freeze. Rae motioned for silence, her blade slipping into her hand as she approached the door. She opened it a crack, her eyes narrowing at the figure standing outside.
It was Instructor Ren.
The older woman’s gaze was sharp, her expression unreadable. “Novices,” she said, her tone calm but firm. “You’re needed in the main hall.”
“For what?” Rae asked, her voice carefully neutral.
Ren’s eyes flicked over the group. “Questions have been raised about the disappearances. All novices are to report immediately.”
As Ren walked away, the group exchanged uneasy glances.
“This is bad,” Tyren said.
“Very bad,” Celestine agreed.
Rae’s jaw tightened. “Stay calm. We don’t know what they know. We stick to the story—we don’t know anything about the lower levels, the cultists, or the ritual. Understood?”
The others nodded, their expressions grim.
The Gathering
The main hall was filled with novices, their voices a nervous hum that died the moment the instructors entered. Rae scanned the room, noting the tension on the faces of the instructors. Something had changed—they weren’t just hiding the truth anymore. They were afraid.
Instructor Parval stepped forward, his booming voice silencing the room. “Two of your peers have gone missing,” he said bluntly. “This is not the first time, and it may not be the last. The Scola is a place of trials, and those who cannot withstand them will be lost.”
Rae clenched her fists, anger simmering beneath her calm exterior. Trials? They were using the disappearances as a lesson—a way to instill fear and obedience.
“Remain vigilant,” Parval continued. “And remember—your survival is your responsibility. The weak will fall, and the strong will rise.”
As the instructors left, the novices erupted into frantic whispers. Rae turned to her team, her voice low but resolute.
“They’re hiding something,” she said. “And if we don’t act soon, more people will go missing.”
“What’s the plan?” Marcus asked.
Rae’s gaze was sharp, her determination unwavering. “We go back. Tonight.”
