Chapter 34

**Merianna**


Before leaving Noch’s office he told me that one of the Ga’s were most likely to have developed something to permanently change hair color, and that I would see them soon. Clearly the rest of them didn’t mind running around with the looks they have been given in their next lives. Heck, they didn’t need to mind because they looked so eerily similar to how they did in the past that it’s not even funny. It looked like I was the only one that was unsatisfied with my current appearance.

Which made me wonder what other effects my current surges could have on my body. It has already changed my eye color, so wouldn’t it be able to change other features of my body as well? It would be great if my skin could be that slightly tanned color again like last time.

While walking down the hallways with Thyrion by my side, I noticed again how quiet the Order was, and not just because Fog and the others weren’t there. It was so quiet that the castle almost felt like a graveyard, which was never something I would have imagined ever happening in the past. I didn’t run into any members at all yet like I would have by now. Which made me wonder where all the students and members went.

I was about to ask Thyrion about it when I glanced out one of the windows we passed. For a second my eyes landed on the green scenery of the middle courtyard, and the next it was like a second layer of reality started playing out in front of my eyes. Hunters swarmed the castle as everyone fought back the best they could. Mixed in with the Hunters were young witches and some older witches that were fighting alongside them. I immediately knew that those were the kidnapped and brainwashed witch children we had dealt with briefly when we fought Dermon, the older witches were clearly traitors.

The next moment the battle fell away and a different scene started playing out in front of my eyes. Newbie witches were standing in the courtyard with all their belongings packed, confronting Noch and Fog. They clearly haven’t finished their training, but they were leaving regardless.

That scene also fell away like mist to be replaced with members who were leaving on long bounties, or who decided to go live somewhere else besides the Order. I didn’t hear anything as these scenes played out in front of me, I just automatically knew what the situation was and the reasons why.

When Thyrion and I arrived by the next window, I stopped and placed my hand against the glass. Looking out into the courtyard didn’t give any new scenes now, it was normal. The statue I had broken long before still stood there proudly, and nothing was amiss.

“What’s wrong?” Thyrion asked next to me.

“I guess no one has been coming to the Order much since that day, have they?” I asked absentmindedly.

Thyrion was silent for a moment. Probably putting together that I figured out why the Order was so quiet on my own. I had always been sensitive to energies after all, so there was no way that I wouldn’t notice the lack of busy bodies roaming around the castle grounds. He also knew very well how good my skills with Daylighting were, almost to the point that it used to be second nature to see the past play out whenever I needed it.

“You’re right.” He answered as he gently led me back onto our path to the room. “After the Order got infiltrated by the Hunters, all the young witches practically stopped coming to be trained because of the risk of something like that happening again. Even though we managed to kill and drive off all the Hunters that attacked, there were even many members that also didn’t feel safe within the Order’s walls anymore.”

I sighed. “To think that even the Order’s own Members would rather go out on their own than help rebuild what was left.”

Thyrion shrugged. “It’s a part of human nature I suppose. Even though the members rarely come to stay in the Order’s castle anymore, they still come and go periodically for the bounties. Even though society has changed so much since then, they only need to live mortal lives to make a decent living nowadays. Gold and crafting materials would have little sway on most of them in this day in age.”

“I don’t like it, but it makes sense.” I muttered. “How are things going at the Council these days? Are they still up and running at least?”

Thyrion tilted his head a little as he thought. “Last I heard they were still very much active. I haven’t personally visited or paid much attention to them over the years. But I think I did come across some information that they have somewhat integrated into modern society while hiding in plain sight. I think most Order members go there to exchange their bounty rewards for modern cash these days.”

“Now that’s interesting.” I said as Thyrion opened up the door to our room and led me inside. “That reminds me, are all my accumulated rewards and such from my bounties still around?”

“Noch or Fog should have kept them safely stashed somewhere I’m sure, why?”

A smile stretched broadly over my face as I thought of all the rewards I had gotten before I died. “If I were to exchange what I didn’t need at the Council, I would probably be filthy rich.”

Thyrion burst out laughing at the simple path my thoughts had taken me. I had never worried about money in the past because of living in the Order. Things were also a lot simpler back in the day where physical money didn’t mean as much as materials did. Things were obviously a lot different now in the 21st century.

“We can always go and have a look once you feel better.” Thyrion chuckled as we both flopped onto the bed.

“That sounds like a good plan.” I grinned.

Laying down on my pillows again, I looked up at the ceiling and remembered something else that the Council was also known for.

“Have you or Noch ever gone to the Council’s vault to dig up information on Dermon or Orbus?” I asked seriously.

Thyrion propped himself up on his elbow next to me. “Well, you know how Noch’s relationship is with the Council. He’d much rather eat broken glass than really interact with them. I on the other hand did try and see if I could gain access to the vaults to see if I could gain more information on Orbus’s plans, but the resources I was originally allowed to check were very limited. Especially since most documents that were from the previous cycle were half-destroyed and written in a language I couldn’t interpret.”

“And Noch never went down there for information on Dermon because he’s stubborn?” I asked. Most of us knew that Noch was one of the few people that actually had memories that predated the Cataclysm of the previous cycle.

Thyrion groaned in answer. “You know him too well.”

I grinned up at him. “I think that as soon as my next surge is over, we should go visit the Council for a bit. Maybe also open up a global bank account for me while we’re at it.”

He chuckled and kissed me on the nose. “As long as I’m next to you, I don’t care where we go. Also, since we’re witches, there’s no need to book plane tickets when we can simply use the Gate.”

I thoroughly liked that idea…