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Chapter 5 - Joel: Revenge

'I can never forget that face. I must avenge the deaths of my parents, my two sisters, and my friends. That damn Mistress of Hell killed them all. I will find a way to end the tyranny of the Masters. For too long they have relished in our fear of them, but not anymore. I will kill them all, even if it's the last thing I do,' thought Joel Pencrest.

He had escaped from Princess Zahanna's burning of his family's farm, but not before he had witnessed the deaths of everyone he loved. Alone now, he went to the King of Pteleria.

"And what is it that you ask of me?" King Fenten asked.

"I would like access to the Royal Library. I want to find information on the Masters."

"Why?"

"Princess Zahanna killed everyone I cared about. She's destroyed this kingdom beyond repair. Don't you want retribution, Your Majesty? Will you really let her walk all over us?"

King Fenten's eyes narrowed at Joel. "What right do you have to speak to me like this?"

"Do you not want to show the Masters and the rest of the world that we are not as weak as they think?"

"Perhaps you are right," the King sighed. "Access granted."

Joel bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

He was escorted to the library and given full access, even to the Archives. Joel perused everything on the Masters, with no luck at all.

"By the gods, can't they die?!"

Aggravated, he furiously shoved some books to the side. The Royal Librarian came over and asked if he needed any help finding something.

"Is there anything else on the Masters of Hell? Anything at all?"

She looked at the books he had found and sadly shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but it looks like you've got them all."

Joel groaned and kept reading.

~~~

Many hours later, he was still reading. And there were many books still to go. He found origins of the Masters and various records of whenever a new Master was created.

"So they are created through some ritual, but they can't be killed? That's just bullshit. There must be something, there must be."

The Royal Librarian eventually came over again and helped him look. Together, they poured over five more books before there were only two left.

"Thanks, I think that I can get the last two."

"Alright. Just let me know if you need anything."

Joel nodded and began reading through the second to last book. It told of the Masters' powers and rituals, much like many of the previous books. He read the whole book, just to make sure there wasn't a small tidbit of new information. There wasn't.

"Maybe there really isn't anything," Joel sighed. "Maybe this was all for naught."

Hoping, he reached for the last book. Scanning the contents page, something caught his eye.

" What's this? 'The Ethereal Priestess: The first Mistress of Hell.' Who is this?"

He flipped to the beginning of the chapter and began to read: "The Ethereal Priestess was born to King Dawson and Queen Josephine of Sonic as a Princess of the Willow bloodline. But she was nearly powerless. Cast away from home, she lived in Ilmoore, a country reputed to hate the mages of Sonic. In Ilmoore's capital, Eruczo, she met with the High Priest who taught her dark magic, the powers of Hell."

Joel's eyes widened as he said, "I've never heard of this Ethereal Priestess before. No history books ever mention a daughter of King Dawson and Queen Josephine, just three sons."

He returned to the page and continued reading: "The Ethereal Priestess flourished under the High Priest's tutelage. After many years, she surpassed him and killed her mentor, taking his place as High Priestess of Ilmoore. The people worshipped her and gave her the name, The Ethereal Priestess, for she seems heavenly and godly to them. They believed that she was a goddess that had come to the mortal world. She never spoke to anyone about her lineage or origins. The Ethereal Priestess forsaked her past and ignored the truth of her blood."

Joel frowned and muttered, "Sounds a lot like the origin story of Princess Zahanna to me."

He continued on: "Eventually her desire for power grew out of control. She wished to not only be the High Priestess, but also the ruler of Ilmoore. So, she took the lives of the Ilmoorian royal family and named herself Empress of Ilmoore. But that didn't satiate her. The Ethereal Priestess grew her army and began to conquer neighboring lands. She desired the world to bow to her."

"Yeah, sounds a lot like Princess Zahanna. Wait... history says she's of Davine and Willow blood. What if Princess Zahanna is a descendant of the Ethereal Priestess and her ancestor's story is being repeated through her?" Joel gasped.

He dove back into the book, needing to finish the story: "When her invasion had gone too far, the new King of Sonic, her brother Ramon, came to the mainland to stop her. But she killed him and his entire army of mages. Once the world was hers, she met a man named Florian Lascan; he was a lord of Aramia. After a brief, whirlwind romance, the Ethereal Priestess gave birth to a daughter. She gave the child to Florian's sister while Florian was gone at war. The Ethereal Priestess went off to war to find Florian and found him lying on the battlefield, bleeding out. Angered, she used her dark magic to change Florian into an immortal, like she had been changed by the High Priest. Thus, the Ethereal Priestess, the first Mistress of Hell, created the second Master, High Lord Zenthe."

Joel breathed out in shock, "By the gods. What happened to the Ethereal Priestess? She isn't around now."

He skimmed over the rest of the Ethereal Priestess's life. Then, the ending paragraph caught his eye.

"As an immortal, the Ethereal Priestess couldn't die. But the King of Vurstan commissioned a mage blacksmith to make an elite set of weapons that would counteract the powers of Hell and kill a Master. Three years after the mage blacksmith was commissioned, the Soul weapons were presented to the King of Vurstan; the Soul Whip, the Soul Saber, and the Soul Rapiers. The weapons shimmered silver and were guaranteed to stop the Ethereal Priestess and High Lord Zenthe; they would hurt and kill a Master, but be completely harmless to mortals. The King tricked the two Masters into coming to his palace and laid his trap. Not much is known about what happened that day, but what is know is that High Lord Zenthe escaped and fled to Hell, while the Ethereal Priestess was killed and the Soul Weapons scattered across the mortal world."

Joel was shocked, but also relieved.

"So, the Masters can be killed," he mused. "Well, it looks like I'm going to have to find the Soul Weapons."