The second installment of Magic’s Secrets of Strixhaven story picks back up with Lluwen a day after being met with a harsh rejection from Professor Fel.
With the rebuff still fresh on his mind, Lluwen pushes himself to focus and continue his pursuit of a discovery that would impress Fel. Blocking out as many distractions as possible, Lluwen’s sharp senses finally pick up on something big moving in his direction, but before he could identify it, he hears a ringing from somewhere under his feet. Turning to run, Lluwen realizes he is standing on the bones of a titan, but before he can react, the hollow bone give way and he plummets into the dark below.
After regaining consciousness, Lluwen observes his surroundings and finds “…six enormous figures, each with too many limbs undulating in time” with movements that “…coordinated with the next, interlinked and overlapping but never intersecting.” Pulling himself to his feet, Lluwen stares at the figures with a cautious curiosity, and realizes this was the discovery he needed to impress Fel.
Brandishing his sketch pad, Lluwen moves to record the sight before him, but as soon as pencil met paper, the figures’ movements ceased and he could feel their gaze shift directly to him. Feeling a wave of fear wash over him, Lluwen scrambles for a nearby vine and frantically climbs toward the surface. Nearing the end of his climb, Lluwen suddenly feels a hand grab hold of him, and before he knows it, he’s hoisted up by Fel.
Allowing the student less than a moment to catch his breath, Fel immediately asks Lluwen if he found something that would impress him, but despite finally having something worth mentioning, Lluwen finds himself unable to speak.
“Lluwen’s fear bubbled up inside him again. When he blinked, he saw the faces of the archaics overlaid on Fel’s—the eyeless eyes, the mouthless mouth. The echoes of the strange chant he’d heard became Fel’s words: don’t waste my time.”
Upon returning to camp, Lluwen relays his experience to Tam, who does her best to comfort him, and offers that he should consider taking his story to Jadzi. Although reluctant at first, Lluwen finally agrees and early the next morning, heads off into town to find the Oracle.
After arriving in town, Lluwen makes his way to a tea shop frequented by Jadzi, only to find her in a heated discussion with Fel. Too scared to approach the pair, Lluwen ducks behind cover and listens in on their conversation.
Jadzi: “Let’s not waste time answering that one. You already know who I am, and you already know how wrong it is to use students for your little scheme.”
Fel: “That you would stoop so low as to call it a scheme …” Fel said. Glass shattered. “What could possibly be more important to me than this? You ask me to cast aside the very blood that runs through my veins; you ask me to forsake the seraphic brightness I reach for every moment of my accursed life? No. No, I swore an oath of devotion, Jadzi. A sacred bond that transcends life and death. Call it selfish, if that is what you think of it, but never name it a scheme.”
Jadzi: “Look, no one is questioning your devotion or your expertise. Just remember, you aren’t the only person in the world. You’d think for one of you Planeswalkers that would be easy to remember. Arcavios is fortunate enough to have externalized examples of the future in the archaics, and all over the plane they’ve been acting strangely. Doesn’t that frighten you?”
Fel: “I have my own thoughts as to the causes. Professor Vess and I were due to discuss them…”
Jadzi: “About that. You’re going to need to reschedule.”
Lluwen continues to listen, unable to pull himself away despite knowing this information was never meant for student ears. Jadzi goes on to explain to Fel that Liliana has gone missing and no one at Strixhaven has been able to contact her. Stunned by this revelation, Fel apologies for underestimating the seriousness of their situation, and the conversation softens.
With tempers cooled, Lluwen contemplates approaching the pair, but once again decides to remain silent, citing the unease he felt hearing that Fel had ulterior motives at Strixhaven, and returns to camp instead.
Tam greets Lluwen upon his return, hopeful that the Oracle was able to provide answers and quell his concerns, but he explains that Fel’s presence had once again prevented him from following through.
Moving to comfort her friend, Tam reassures Lluwen that everything would be fine once they spoke with Jadzi, but the comfort is short lived as the ground around them begins to shake, and the pair rush out of their tent and witness an archaic of unfathomable size.
Luckily, the mountain-sized being was seemingly unconcerned with the students, and as suddenly as it appeared, it moved on, leaving only confusion and cleanup to be dealt with.
After cleaning and restoring order to the camp site, Lluwen and Tam are approached by a flustered Fel, who asks if they had seen the Oracle, at which point they realize that she too has gone missing. With the gravity of the situation setting in, Lluwen rushes to his scribing board and notifies the others of the impending danger.
Read Secrets of Strixhaven Episode 2 in full from Wizards of the Coast.
