The Vanishing
Elena stood at her bedroom window, watching the mist curl around the dark pine trees of their mountain village. The moon cast strange shadows on the snow-covered ground. Her brother Mihai's bed hadn't been slept in for three days now.
"He must be somewhere," she whispered, pressing her hand against the cold glass. The villagers had searched everywhere - the forests, the caves, even the old church ruins. But Mihai had vanished without a trace.
❄️ The Carpathian Mountains loomed silent and mysterious in the darkness ❄️
"Elena! Come down for dinner!" Mama called from downstairs. But Elena couldn't move. Her eyes were fixed on the mountain peak where the strange lights had appeared the night Mihai disappeared.
The kitchen was warm and smelled like sarmale - Mama's stuffed cabbage rolls. But neither Elena nor her parents felt much like eating.
"Did they find anything today?" Elena asked, pushing the food around her plate.
Papa shook his head. "Nothing. But old Maria from the village said something strange..." He hesitated.
"What did she say?" Elena leaned forward eagerly.
"She mentioned the Scholomance," Papa said quietly. "The devil's school."
Elena's fork clattered onto her plate. Everyone in the village knew about the legendary school hidden somewhere in the mountains. It was said to teach dark magic to only ten students at a time. And only nine would graduate...
"That's just an old story," Mama said sharply. But her hands trembled as she cleared the plates.
That night, Elena couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about what the villagers whispered:
• The Scholomance appeared only to those chosen to study there• It was hidden beneath a mountain lake• Students learned secrets from the Devil himself• One student would be claimed as payment each year
Could Mihai have been chosen? The thought made Elena's heart race.
A tap at her window made her jump. A large black raven perched on the sill, watching her with gleaming eyes. In its beak was a scrap of paper.
With shaking hands, Elena opened the window. The icy mountain air rushed in as the raven dropped the paper and flew away.
Written in what looked like dark red ink were three words: "Help me. -M"
Elena clutched the note to her chest. Her brother was alive! But if he really was in the Scholomance, she would have to be very brave - and very clever - to get him back.
Outside, wolves howled in the darkness. The sound echoed off the mountains, mixing with another noise - something that might have been laughter, or might have been screams.
Elena began to pack her backpack. She would need warm clothes, food, her grandmother's old cross necklace, and most importantly - her courage. Tomorrow, she would begin her search for the devil's school.
As she worked, the strange lights appeared again on the mountain peak. This time, they seemed to be calling to her.
"I'm coming, Mihai," she whispered. "Whatever it takes, I'll find you."Whispers of the Dark School
The village library was small and dusty. Elena sneezed as she pulled another ancient book from the shelf. Her flashlight beam caught swirling dust motes in the early morning darkness.
"You won't find what you seek in those books, child." The voice made Elena jump. Old Madame Popescu emerged from the shadows, her silver hair gleaming.
"The Scholomance cannot be found in written words. Its secrets live in whispers, in stories passed down through generations."
Elena pulled out Mihai's note, now crumpled from constant handling. "Please, I need to know more. My brother is there - I'm sure of it!"
Madame Popescu's eyes softened. "Come with me." She led Elena to a back room filled with strange objects - dried herbs, crystals, and old maps.
📜 The old woman's fingers traced ancient markings on a yellowed map 📜
"Long ago, when my grandmother was young, she knew a boy who was taken. He returned... changed." She pulled out a small leather journal. "These are his writings."
Elena's hands trembled as she opened the journal. Inside were drawings of dark corridors, strange symbols, and descriptions of magical lessons. But what caught her eye was a detailed sketch of a lake.
"Lake Hermanstadt," Madame Popescu whispered. "The entrance lies beneath its waters, they say. But only those marked by dark magic can find it."
A list fell from the journal's pages:
• Signs of the Chosen:
Ravens appear as messengers
Strange lights on moonless nights
Dreams of underwater towers
Ability to read ancient symbols
"Last night," Elena said slowly, "I had a dream. I was swimming deep in cold water, and I saw a black tower..."
The old woman gasped. "Then it's true. The school is calling to you too."
"But why? Why Mihai? Why me?"
Madame Popescu pulled out a small wooden box. Inside was a strange amulet. "Your grandmother left this for you. She knew this day might come."
"My grandmother? But she died before I was born..."
"She was a guardian, child. One who watched the boundaries between our world and theirs. And now that power passes to you."
Thunder rumbled outside, though the sky had been clear moments ago. The library's electric lights flickered and died.
"Listen carefully," Madame Popescu said urgently. "The path to Lake Hermanstadt is treacherous. You'll need these..." She pressed a bundle into Elena's hands - herbs, crystals, and an old compass that seemed to point in impossible directions.
A raven's cry pierced the darkness. Elena looked out the window to see dozens of black birds circling the library.
"They're watching," the old woman whispered. "You must go now. But remember - in the Scholomance, nothing is what it seems. Trust your heart, not your eyes."
Elena clutched her grandmother's amulet. It felt warm against her skin, almost alive.
"Be careful who you trust, child. Even the teachers are not what they appear. And Elena..." Madame Popescu caught her arm. "If you hear singing beneath the water - cover your ears and swim away. Some songs are not meant for human ears."
As Elena hurried home through the misty streets, she felt eyes watching from every shadow. The amulet pulsed with each step, like a second heartbeat.
In her room, she added the new items to her pack. The map seemed to shimmer in the moonlight, revealing paths she'd never seen before.
"Tomorrow," she whispered to herself. "Tomorrow I find Lake Hermanstadt. Hold on, Mihai."
That night, her dreams were filled with underwater bells and distant voices calling her name in languages she shouldn't understand - but did.Dark Paths and Ancient Signs
The forest loomed before Elena, ancient trees stretching into darkness. Her grandmother's amulet pulsed warmly against her chest as she checked her strange compass one last time.
🌲 The needle spun wildly before pointing to a path no normal eyes could see 🌲
"This way," Elena whispered to herself, stepping between two twisted oaks. The morning mist curled around her ankles like hungry fingers.
Warning signs covered the trees: "DANGER - NO ENTRY" in faded Romanian letters. But beneath the paint, Elena saw older markings - symbols that matched those in the journal.
A raven landed on a nearby branch. Its eyes gleamed with an unnatural intelligence.
"Are you here to help or stop me?" Elena asked.
The bird cocked its head and spoke in a voice that sounded like crackling leaves: "Neither. We watch. We wait."
Elena's heart jumped, but she stood her ground. "Then watch me find my brother."
As she walked deeper into the forest, the air grew thick with magic. Shadows moved wrong. Flowers bloomed and died in seconds. Time itself seemed to hiccup around her.
A soft voice drifted through the trees: "Little guardian, little seeker... are you sure you want to find what's lost?"
Elena clutched her pack tighter. "Show yourself!"
From behind a gnarled tree stepped a woman - or something that looked like one. Her skin was pale as moonlight, her hair dark as cave water.
"I am Mirela," she said, smiling with too-sharp teeth. "I guide those who seek the school."
"Can you take me to Lake Hermanstadt?"
"Oh yes. But first, a test." Mirela held out three items: a silver key, a black feather, and a small mirror.
"Choose wisely, little seeker. One leads to truth, one to power, one to loss."
Elena studied each item carefully. The key felt cold, the feather whispered secrets, but the mirror... the mirror showed her brother's face.
She reached for the mirror.
"Wait!" The amulet burned against her skin. Elena remembered Madame Popescu's words: Trust your heart, not your eyes.
She picked up the feather instead.
Mirela's smile widened. "Clever girl. The mirror shows what we wish to see. The feather shows what is."
The forest path suddenly became clear - marked by black feathers that hadn't been there before.
"Follow them," Mirela said, fading into mist. "But beware - others walk these woods. Dark things. Hungry things."
As if on cue, howls echoed through the trees - not wolves, but something worse.
Elena ran, following the feather trail. Branches grabbed at her clothes. Roots tried to trip her. The very forest seemed alive and angry.
She burst through thorny vines into a clearing. There, in a perfect circle of black stones, stood an old man drawing symbols in the dirt.
"Stop!" he called. "The wards must be completed before nightfall!"
Elena froze at the edge of the circle. The old man worked frantically, his fingers leaving trails of blue fire in the soil.
"The dark ones hunt tonight," he muttered. "Stay within the circle until dawn. Then I'll show you the lake's secret path."
The howls grew closer. Shadows with red eyes gathered between the trees.
As darkness fell, Elena sat in the circle's center, watching the old man strengthen his magical barriers. The amulet hummed, adding its power to the wards.
She pulled out Mihai's journal, reading by the light of the magic flames. One passage caught her eye:
"The school transforms us, sister. Each lesson changes us more. Soon I may not be the brother you knew. But I will always remember..."
The words faded there, as if Mihai couldn't bring himself to finish.
Outside the circle, the shadow creatures prowled and snarled, testing the barriers. Elena gripped the black feather tight and waited for dawn.Depths of Deception
The morning sun scattered the shadow creatures, leaving Elena and the old man - who called himself Petru - standing at the edge of Lake Hermanstadt. The water was black as ink, still as glass.
"Your brother went below," Petru said, pointing to the dark surface. "The school takes one student each year."
Elena touched her grandmother's amulet. "How do I follow?"
🌊 The lake rippled, though there was no wind 🌊
"First, you must understand their ways." Petru drew a circle in the mud with his staff. "The Scholomance's selection is never random. They choose those with the spark - the potential for dark magic."
Warning: The school's recruiting methods revealed by Petru:
• They mark potential students from birth
• Send dreams and visions to lure them
• Make deals with desperate families
• Create "accidents" to test candidates
"Mihai didn't just vanish," Elena whispered. "They called him."
Petru nodded grimly. "Through dreams, most likely. Did he speak of strange visions?"
Elena remembered her brother's drawings - twisted towers under dark waters, faces in shadows. "Yes. But why him?"
"The same reason they're watching you now." Petru pointed to her amulet. "Magic runs in your blood."
The lake's surface broke. A pale hand reached up, followed by a girl's face - but her eyes were solid black.
"Welcome, sister," the water-girl said in a voice like drowning. "We've waited for you."
Elena stepped back. "I'm not your sister. Where's Mihai?"
"Learning. Growing. Changing." The water-girl smiled with sharp teeth. "Would you like to see?"
Before Petru could stop her, Elena nodded.
The water-girl grabbed her ankle. Elena screamed as she was pulled into the freezing lake.
Down, down, down they went. Past schools of blind fish, past ruins of ancient temples, past things with too many eyes watching from caves.
Just when Elena's lungs were burning, they broke through into an air pocket. A vast underground chamber stretched before her, lit by floating balls of blue fire.
"Behold the true Scholomance," the water-girl said.
Crystal towers rose from underground pools. Dark shapes moved behind stained glass windows. Students in black robes walked on water between buildings.
Elena's amulet pulsed frantically. Something was wrong. The scene flickered like a bad dream.
"An illusion," she gasped. "This isn't real!"
The water-girl's face twisted. Her black eyes...
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