The snow did not slow down Isyd. He ran down the Fields, his darkveil flapping behind him. He soon reached the doors of the building and realized that they were locked. He couldn’t feel the humming of a [Locking Spell] so he assumed that the lock had to be physical in nature. Isyd did not have time to run back to the main entrance of the Atelier which was always open.

Isyd took some run-up, enjoyed the sweetness of the Holy Grace in his mouth, and then kicked the gate with all his strength. The door burst from its hinges and flew across the entrance hall. With no regard for the damages, Isyd rushed in towards the staircase.

Naeht was flying right next to him. “I saw two people inside! They weren’t the Ravasz! Hurry!”

Isyd took on the stairs two by two, then four by four. By the fifth and final floor, he was leaping past the whole flight of stairs. He could see at the end of the hallway the light pouring out of the laboratory’s door left ajar. Isyd was such in a hurry that he almost failed to notice the person hidden in the shadows.

“Isyd, there’s a third person!” Naeht shouted.

Isyd heard the Grace sing around him and saw the wand pointed at him. His instincts honed by years of experience took over.

“[Shield]!”

The air in front of Isyd turned solid at the same time as a [Wind Spear] flew in his direction. The two [Spells] exploded upon impact and Isyd was pushed back. He quickly got back on his feet just in time to see the intruder finishing another [Spell]. It flashed briefly and a wall of flames appeared. The intruder rushed back inside the laboratory as the fire grew hotter and hotter and blocked any chance for Isyd to progress further.

Isyd heard footsteps behind him and he turned just to see Jadwia and Kewin running up the stairs, breathless.

“What’s… wrong… with you?” Jadwia panted at him. “Why did you start running all of a…”

Her sentence died out as she saw the wall of flames at the end of the highway.

“What’s happening here…?” Kewin muttered as flabbergasted as her.

Isyd didn’t bother answering them. He rushed to the fire and began casting. The Air Essence around him was sucked into his [Spell], shaped and amplified before being released as a strong gale. It was as if a storm had exploded inside the hallway. The winds blew in, threw Jadwia and Kewin to the ground, and made the windows explode. The walls shook and the fire was snuffed as if it was a simple candle flame.

“Isyd, watch out!” Naeht said, worried. “You’ll bring this whole place down!”

“I know!” Isyd muttered through gritted breath.

In the same breath, he reached the door of the laboratory and slammed it open. There were three intruders indeed and they all turned to him at the same time, surprised to see him there. They wore a cloak and a scarf covered half of their visage. One man threw a knife in Isyd’s direction but Isyd jumped aside, grabbed a chair and threw it. He followed by a pointed finger and a [Spell] already drawn.

“[Pierce]!”

The man ducked the chair but couldn’t avoid the gust of wind; it him square in the chest and sent him crashing against a shelf full of glass instruments.

“Hell! Get him!” one man shouted.

The man had a wand in one hand and a bundle of papers in the other whereas the second man only held an iridescent crystal in his hand. It was the Ingraced Blysht! Isyd’s attention focused on the latter.

I need Water Essence…

Isyd’s mind immediately latched onto the snow that laid everywhere outside and his Idpulse made the Grace sings as the Commands formed at the tip of his gloved fingers. The windows of the laboratory burst open and the snow flew in as floating ribbons.

“[Freezing Mist]!”

The cloud of snow soon rushed at the two intruders. The tallest of the two gasped and recoiled at the sudden bite of the cold on his exposed face and, in his surprise, dropped the crystal. Isyd did not miss a beat and jumped at it.

“No!”

The other man threw in his direction a handful of wooden coins. Isyd rolled and snatched the Blysht while one of the chips touched his leg. He realized too late that those were [Arcanes]. Wherever the wooden chips had landed, vines had burst from the floor and one of those was now tightly wrapped around Isyd’s leg, pinning him to the ground.

The tall man tried to jump at Isyd and slammed headfirst into his [Wind Shield]. Isyd cursed at himself and the dead weight of his palcat in his darkveil. If he had his weapon, all of this would have been sorted out so easily but now he had to improvise.

“[Ice Shape]!” Isyd said. The ice mist flew to his hand and coalesced into an 8-meter-long pole that he used to sweep them all off their feet.

“[Ice Shape]!” he called once more. The Water Essence that he had initially gathered was starting to run out; the ice was of poor quality and was already breaking apart. Still, it managed to deliver one last time and formed a sharp ice knife in Isyd’s palm. With a quick swoop, he cut the vines and freed himself.

The first man Isyd had attacked was now back on his feet. It was the same who had held vigil. His scarf had slipped off and his skin was bruised and cut. He was about to cast a [Spell] in Isyd’s direction but Isyd was faster. Like many Arcanysta, the man never expected to be attacked in close quarters as he was casting. Thus, his eyes went wide right before Isyd closed the gap between them and slammed his fist into the man’s jaw. He followed with another on the chin then a last one in the guts as the man raised his hands to protect his face. As he doubled over, Isyd finished flooring him by slamming his elbow into the man’s temple.

Isyd turned just in time as the tallest man threw himself at him, trying to tackle him. Fortunately, Isyd was strong on his feet. He took in the impact then used the momentum of the intruder against him and hurled him over his shoulders, before violently slamming him onto the ground.

“Good Grace!”

All the heads turned to the doorstep where Jadwia and Kewin had finally made their apparition. The last man standing did not hesitate; he redirected the [Spell] he was aiming at Isyd towards the newcomers.

“Watch out!” Isyd shouted.

A blazing [Fire Ball] dashed across the room and Isyd threw himself toward it, hand extended in desperation. He snapped his fingers and the melting ice that was left on the floor stirred and turned into a feeble water jet. It intercepted the [Fire Ball] right before it hit Jadwia and both [Spells] exploded into a cloud of steam.

There were two sharp whistles and Isyd turned to see that all the intruders had gotten back on their feet – if somewhat difficulty so. As one, they all rushed toward the open window. Isyd guessed what they were about to do and was about to invoke a [Wind Wall] to stop them. At the same time, one of the men turned around and threw in his direction what looked like a Lightsphere. By reflex, Isyd turned his [Wind Wall] into a [Deflecting Spell] and the Lightsphere deviated. However, it wasn’t a normal Lightsphere as when it touched the ground, it exploded into a blinding light.

The white flash was sudden and took Isyd by surprise, blinding him. Even as the light went out, his vision was seared by the afterimages.

“Isyd, they’re getting away!” Naeht told him.

Using the sound of her voice as a point of reference, Isyd stumbled blindly to the windowsill while blinking furiously. Against the white background of the snow, he managed to see the three figures running away towards the woods. They probably used an [Arcane] to slow down their fall from such a height. Isyd didn’t need that. He could just jump down and hunt them down. With some luck, he could catch them before they got too far away. He just needed to grab one of them to learn who organized tonight’s attack…

“Isyd, are you hurt?” Kewin asked as he put a hand on his shoulder.

Isyd shrugged him off forcefully and turned. “You shouldn’t have followed!” he said harshly.

“We… we were worried… You just ran off suddenly and we… I thought something was wrong…” Kewin stammered.

Isyd walked past him and took a long look at the damage in the room. The laboratory was barely recognizable; all the precious instruments had been shattered and destroyed in the onslaught, and papers and splintered wood laid everywhere around them. Isyd hunched down and picked up the bundle he had managed to snatch from one of the intruders as he wrestled him to the ground. The papers were a first draft describing the [Ingracing Hex] and possible future applications. They belonged to a bigger batch of notes about the Blysht and the [Outgracing Hex] and they were now in the hands of those men. Searching around, he finally found a wooden box that had been thrown across the room. Its latch had been forced upon but fortunately, its content had been stolen. It was a simple Lightsphere, or at least in appearance; the thieves had not noticed that the [Lighting Hex] had been modified with the [Outgracing Hex]. Isyd put the precious Lightsphere in the pocket of his darkveil, next to his palcat.

“Do… do you know who they were?” Kewin asked timidly.

“No, I do not,” Isyd said. “But I will find soon enough… This is a matter concerning the Atelier so I expect of you to keep your mouth shut regarding what you’ve seen tonight.”

There was such a coldness in Isyd’s voice, such an authority that Kewin could only nod profusely. Isyd turned his gaze to Jadwia, expecting her to agree as well. The girl was immobile, eyes wide and staring into space. Isyd followed her gaze and saw that she was staring at the Ingraced Blysht he was clutching firmly in his hand.

“Jadwia…” Kewin called, uncertain. “Are you okay?”

“They… they had come for this… the Blysht…,” she mumbled.

“I assume so, and since they failed to have it, I suspect they’ll try again,” Isyd said.

Jadwia grew even paler and she looked all around her, her hand moving to her mouth. It was as if she only now fully took in what had happened.

“They knew about the Blysht…”

The girl looked haunted. Isyd suspected that she was suffering from shock, but he didn’t have the time nor the will to care. His mind was racing to find an explanation for tonight’s attack. As Jadwia had said, the thieves knew about the Blysht and where and when to hit. They were well informed and obviously proficient Artysta. This reduced the list of suspects considerably…

In Isyd’s mind, another piece found its place in the puzzle.

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