Raphael galloped through the forest taking in the near silence of the trees. He was heading to the lake of souls in the middle of the forest to meet up with Dorian. Victor the current king of Vemos and Raphael and Terry's shared father was concerned that Zafira had followers that might take her lead and try to accost Laurena thinking that she might know where her father is. Raphael had no idea where Nathaniel was. He'd only been three when Nathaniel had been banished, and he had never had any reason to question his father about his whereabouts. Nathaniel had failed Vemos as the King.
His father Victor was both stronger and wiser than Nathaniel had ever been. He would gladly take out any of his so-called followers, and he would revel in doing so. Raphael's eyes narrowed as he got closer to the lake, Lake of souls was so named for the fact that it was actually made completely of souls. It was rumored that the lake itself had an inner tunnel that led straight to the River Styx that was part of Hades Dominion of hell. Vemos was just a Kingdom in one of the nine realms of hell, after all.
He pushed his horse to a trot as he got closer to Dorian. "What is he doing here," Raphael murmured when he got closer. Dorian, raised his eyebrow. Raphael of course meant Terry who was watching the Lake with curiosity. "Terry is a prince like you. He needs to learn more about the kingdom. Either way, we'll be able to cover more ground this way." Dorian said.
Raphael rolled his eyes, Terry had lived his first sixteen years as a human. He'd only lived in Vemos for over two years. He was practically a baby. "As you say," Raphael said turning his horse around. "I'll be in the south." He said as he galloped away.
Dorian scowled, looking towards Terry who was watching Raphael gallop away. "Too good, to stick around?" he said as he approached Dorian. "We are going North. There's a village up there, we can see if any of them knows of any Nathaniel sympathizers."
"Is Lauri going to be safe in the castle by herself?" Terry asked. He'd been extremely worried when he realized she had been missing and even more worried when she had returned with her neck in tatters. "She will be fine. Simeon is going to be by her side. Trust me, there's no one more equipped with Magic going haywire than him."
Terry's eyes narrowed as he followed Dorian on his horse. "What do you mean, Magic haywire?"
"She called to me using her powers, and when I got there, I noticed that Zafira had torn into Raphael's mark. That leaves a certain pain unique to magic users. Almost like darkness. Her magic so far has been mainly towards the fire, but with Zafira's interference, she's about to learn more about her mother's powers than she ever would have realized."
"Mother? My mother was human."
"Just because she lived in the human plane does not mean she was ever human. You'd be surprised what weird and unusual creatures reside on earth. No matter what era you are in." Dorian said before he kicked his horse galloping deeper in the forest, leaving Terry no choice other than to follow him.
The Castle
Lauri walked through the illuminated doors that led into an unused ballroom, her eyes going wide at the wide-open opulent space she now found herself in. She had woken up this morning and found a simple dress with silts at either side waiting for her in the bath. She'd dressed and followed the instructions left on her breakfast plate, to this particular room. She walked deeper in the room, looking down at the intricate designs on the floor before she looked up and found a surprising motif of a winter landscape.
"That is one of the other's Kingdoms of hell. It is considered in the Dante text on earth to be the third circle of hell. The circle that represented Gluttony." Simeon said. Lauri turned to Simeon surprised to see him walking towards her, not in his regular robes but wearing a simple tunic and pants, brandishing a sword on either arm. "And what do we represent?" Lauri said glancing uneasily at the swords. "Lust of course." Lauri whipped around at the new voice. A dark-haired man, wearing all black stood before her, his hands at his sides. "So, this is Nathaniel's lovely daughter." He said, putting his hands behind his back.
"You are quite lovely, indeed. But you needn't worry about him. He doesn't know about you, and if I have my way he never will."
"Laurena this is Darius Draconis. He is one of our affiliates in Mexico." Simeon said. Darius smiled, "It's where all the bad demons go to be punished."
"Nathaniel was stripped of all his powers and given the form of a seven-year-old human. He will eventually age. But it will be extremely slow." Simeon said.
"You have nothing to fear. Of him at least." Darius said. "I just wanted to make sure you knew that. I'll be in the throne room giving my report to Victor. I hope I will be able to see you before I take my leave." Darius said, walking away from them both. Lauri looked at Simeon curiously. "Darius is an acquired taste. Now it's about time we upped your training." Simeon said, throwing one of the swords at Lauri, who deftly caught it.
"I thought you were supposed to be training me in magic?" Lauri said, raising her sword in alarm as Simeon immediately attacked her head-on. "Magic is something that you need to be able to call on like it's second nature," Simeon said as he continued sending sword blows her way. Lauri surprising herself blocked each one.
"So far, the only time you have been able to summon your magic has been times of dire need. We need to cultivate you so that you can bring forth your magic like you would move your hand to block me. It has to be instinct, not fear. And let's be honest, after Zafira's attack, you are most likely have been a bit drained of your magic, or at the very least wary of using it. Think of these lessons as a much-needed break."
"A break because I'm weak," Lauri asked, her eyes flashing. "A break because you are one of the strongest people I know. Not many people could face Zafira head on and live to tell the tale."
"Dorian was there," Lauri muttered, as she jumped away, as Simeon made a rather forceful slam, against her sword. "Dorian asked you for your help. He doesn't do that easily. Zafira is a third-class conjuror. He would've fallen if not for your help."
"I thought Dorian was like you."
"I'm a mage. This means I've been studying magic since I was five, all for the service for this kingdom. My regular home is on earth. In the era, that Terry hails from. The tower that I have is a mirror of where I live. It's something I've been cultivating for hundreds of years. Since I've met you, I've seen that you have the potential to be one of the most powerful conjurors of our time. All you need is time."
"Time seems to be all that I have," Lauri said.
"It won't always be like this. In time, you will be able to choose, between Vemos and the earth. I know that you miss the roving fields of your childhood. The sun, the colors of the sunset, the way the dark of night slowly came over the hills, turning everything violet, before embracing the earth, in complete darkness."
"I do miss home. But I've found beauty here, in the oddest of places." Lauri said. Beauty in the castle, in the tapestries that lined the corridors, in the elaborate designs in some of the hallways, the intricate designs that lined the Atrium, the way the crimson, red sun would go down, and how a night in Vemos was all silver and blue, the colors she associated with Dorian's eyes. So unlike the dark blue of both Terry and her eyes. Eyes they no doubt inherited from their mother. A mother that was an Angel according to Zafira. But what could that possibly mean?