The atmosphere tensed and the food turned sour, this was not what he was expecting. A family of slaves living in the outskirts of their village, what on earth could be the reason for the witches to pick them.
They were living a filthy life, down to the ground, among the rats.
So why? Why them? Could gods be this cruel? Could fate be this twisted?
In the stories, the witches will choose the princess as the sacrifice. A person of royal blood and a person with great importance, not someone from the serfdom.
"I don't understand, why him? We… we have nothing…w-we're poor…" he stuttered, he was expecting his brother to be in danger but not like this.
"Usually, if it was to break a seal it has something to do with the bloodline" Oraculi mumbled. "Tell me about your family" he demanded.
"What… we're a family of slaves. As far as I know generations after generations, a son must be sent to Ravana to become a slave. If the old slave dies, another must be immediately sent to her as a replacement. We started as a clan- that was what my mother told me. But as we continue to send her more slaves, our numbers diminished. Until there was only our family left." Darius sat back, slowly calming down. But the fear lingers in his chest.
"Why did Ravana suddenly decide to take slaves from your family? That was the question. There has to be something, a reason behind it" Oraculi asked.
But Darius shook his head, "I don't know why…" but I will ask her later, he thought.
"What about the witches, how do you plan on finding them?" Oraculi asked another question. This one made Darius sigh, he has no idea.
"We will have to establish a connection then, I know some people. Being hunters they will have information about witches, we will trace them from there. I can feel it in my bones, this is bigger than just a family problem. There's so much that doesn't make sense. Don't worry, I will help you in every way I can. " The mentor promised, this is no longer just Darius's fight. But his as well, he was his mentor now and this concerns him.
'He's smart~' Ravana whispered, making Darius shiver ever so slightly.
"We will postpone the planned study for today, we will also change your training. We have limited time to make you strong enough, we have to speed up the process. But for now, I will have to figure some things." Oraculi stood from his chair and left.
It was odd really. He only met these children for a few weeks, yet he thinks of them as his very own.
Just like the others before.
"Master, I will become strong and defeat all the evil in this world. To make a world a better place to live in." He remembered an apprentice once said.
"What was his name again?" the old man mused as tears pricked the side of his tired teal orbs. So many of them had died… so young, so full of life.
Opening the door to the little library, Oraculi entered. His nose suddenly filled up with dust and the scent of parchment. Making his way in the dark, just like he would, too many times before. He went for the table to light the glass lamp, the fire illuminated throughout the room.
Piles upon piles of terribly kept notes and books littered the place.
In a note pinned in the wall, atop the rest of the information had gathered before. Is a name… no, it was more like a title.
"White Raven"
"The three of us can do it, we can defeat her. She's just another witch" the voice of the past echoing in his ears. Without even realizing it, his eyes glazed with sadness. The memories of his previous students, coming back to haunt him like a ghost in the night.
"I hope this time around, the fates will be kinder to those young men," he whispered under his breath.
After finishing their meals, the young men retired to their room. Under the faint light of the glass lamp, Darius's dark expression illuminates.
A sacrifice? His younger brother? He thought to himself. The dread never left his heart.
"We will figure something out…" Brennan suddenly said, attracting the older man's attention. "I have to say this, I will help you too. If I have to, I will come with you in your journey to find your brother." He said with sincerity in his eyes.
"Brennan…" Darius shook his head. "No… I can ask that from you, it's too dangerous. I don't want you to put yourself in danger because of my problem." He explained; the offer sounds enticing. He has to admit that, but knowing how dangerous the path could be. He didn't have the heart to ask Brennan to join his cause.
"I already made my decision, therefore, there is nothing you can do. I will follow you to the end of the world if I have to." The younger man said as he plopped his back in the bed.
"Brennan…" he was out of words, he can't deny the fact that he's relieved that he didn't have to go alone.
"From this point on, we are each other's companion." Brennan gave him a thumbs up and a cheeky smile, before turning to the side.
"Thank you," Darius said with a small smile, now sitting on his bed to head to sleep.
Sweat formed in the side of his head, his entire body soaking in the same liquid. Even with such a cold unforgiving night, and the chill bitting the skin under the thick blankets. Darius was covered in a cold sweat, the young man shook his head. Eyes closed tightly, his teeth are clenched, muscles contracting, his breathing was ragged and heavy.
It had been such a long time since he had a nightmare. If memory serves, it was in Twin Lake a few days before he met Alexander on the battlefield.
Everything started with a dream of himself, from the distance he watched as he took the sword from the ground. As soon as he took the subterranean, the sky darkened, thunder rumbled, the raven flew away screaming in the distance. The ground shook and beneath him, as it cracked open swallowing him whole.
The next thing he knows is that he was standing before a great tower inside a castle courtyard. The place was spacious but the dark walls are more noticeable than the refined architecture of the place. Everything around seems so gray and dull, not a single creature was moving, and not a single sound was heard.
"Ah! It is here!" a voice boomed from the top of the tower. Glancing above, Darius saw a woman wearing a white hood, her hair flowing along with the wind, both arms raised wide open into the sky.
Darius could see her, that much is clear. But he can't seem to make out her face nor the color of her eyes, not even the color of her hair.
"The planetary alignment!" she shouted with pure joy and excitement, her orbs glazed with delight, red-painted lips curved in a huge smile.
As her loud yet graceful laugh echoed throughout the castle, the ground once again shook. Thunder rumbled, in the sky, the outline of the planets glow in different shades of purple, pink, and blue.
Lighting struck everywhere, breaking the cemented floors of the courtyard, leaving nothing but the trail of rubble, smoke, and dust.
Among the raging chaos, the ground once again opened. But it was different than before because red glowing hot lava oozed out of the crack, smoke and heat building up in every direction.
Until suddenly, a huge arm burst out of the crack. It has sharp blackish-brown claws, rough black skin.
Whatever it is crawling out of the pit, Darius reckoned it was not... in any way human.
With monstrous strength, it sent boulders flying in the air.
In horror, Darius could only stare with wide eyes and a fearful expression.
"Gah!" Darius suddenly woke up from his nightmare. He was exhausted, to say the least, with ragged breath and a sweaty body. He thought he was going to die inside his own slumber.
"Hmmm…" Brennan hummed from the other bed, fast asleep. Disturbed by Darius's yelp, the younger man turned in his bed. But remained asleep nonetheless.
Darius sat up, to calm his nerves. Slouching a little he clasped his shaking hands together. That can't be an ordinary dream, he thought to himself.
'Well, it's not.' a familiar voice echoed inside his head.
"What do you mean?" Darius mumbled under his breath.
'That was a vision, someone showed you the future. At least some part of it at least.' The witch explained. 'You are favored by someone or something powerful, whatever their reason may be… they want you to stop the ritual. How lucky, you're receiving so much help. This will boost your chances of winning.' Ravana hummed.
"Speaking of which, you've seen the dream did you not?" Darius asked with a dead-serious tone.
'I did, but if you're going to ask me if I know anything… no. I don't know anything. There is hardly anything to see other than the alignment. The demon in the pit could be any demon in the books. But I have to say, that one looks exceptionally powerful. You have to watch out, the ritual must not happen. Or that could be the death of us both.'
"Darius? Who are you talking to?" Brennan suddenly asked, from the other side of the room.
'Don't…' Ravana warned him.
Unintentionally, he followed her order. Still enslaved by his previous relationship with Ravana. "No one, just mumbling to myself."
"Oh, then go back to sleep." Brennan lay back in bed, covering his head with the soft blanket.
"Right..." Darius muttered before following Brennan's example.