"And here we are, face to face. Outstanding debts must be settled between you and me, damn witch. Debts that your bloody lineage cannot pay even with death, but at least it will serve as a bargaining chip for me to rise above your house" – Extending his arms in a sign of combat, Gamaliel was very confident in himself and his power. As much as to challenge Sara, a teacher recognized by all as the heir to the elemental control of fire.
"If you tell me where my great-granddaughter is, I promise I'll take your life painlessly" – Containing her rage, she could see how the old woman squeezed the handle of her magic cane hard. The tremor in her hands was not the product of fear of her opponent, she was really making a huge effort not to set everything around her on fire since Calisto and I were between us.
Inhaling slowly and controlling the flow of her breath, Sara held her staff in front of her in a perpendicular position as she recited a level 7 magic circle incantation. In the brief period that I had as her disciple, she explained to me that controlling the flow of mana had seven circles for each existing element. A total of 28 circles if they were all combined together.
Being a dual element master, her control reached 14 manaflow magic circles. Already handling 7 circles in one punch meant enough stress on the body to break muscle fibers and atrophy nerves. In her current state, using the double implied that she recognized her opponent's strength and furthermore, it showed that she intended to die to win this fight.
"Oh excellent. You will grace this humble sorcerer to witness the ultimate power of the infamous fire witch. I must say I'm flattered, but it won't be enough for you to defeat me, you bloody harpy. I have stopped being that child you looked over your shoulder at when you taught magic" - I was about to witness a fight between disciple and teacher, something inside me was excited to see the enormous power of my teacher in all its splendor . But at the same time I felt guilty even thinking about it because of the circumstances in which we found ourselves.
"Don't worry girl, she is the most powerful sorceress I know. He won't lose this battle, believe me. Have faith in her" – With her arms held behind her back by magical shackles that suppressed the flow of mana, Callisto tried to cheer me up while an expression of extreme exhaustion could be seen on her face. Everything seemed to indicate that his physical condition had worsened and the eclipse only worsened his health.
Suddenly the sound of the flames howling in the air as if they were wild dogs, snorted loudly in the immensity of the silence of the forest. As if encased in armor of fire, Sara began hurling firebolts that shot out from around her like shots at targets.
Gamaliel's guards blocked some of the attacks, but those were so consecutive that the dizzying speed of their attack sent them falling engulfed in flames one after another. Instead , Gamaliel was unmoved even listening to the cries of his subordinates who begged him to intervene. It was a cruel scene for anyone who saw it, a heart so dark and cold that it cared little for betraying the patriarch. Being friends from an early childhood.
"You are so dishonorable that you discard your men like fuel to the fire my dear student, with this you have discarded your numerical advantage and soon I will be able to go completely against you" - Sara's determination was implacable, without giving rest to her enemies she was taking their lives without leaving a head on their shoulders. But the calm with which Gamaliel kept himself could only inspire great distrust in me.
Suddenly in his right hand he showed a bottle with a strange elixir that he had never seen before. The arcane elves were famous for their healing potions, but the contents of that vial were something else entirely because of their color. A slightly shimmering purple liquid that seemed to give off a shadowy essence from it.
"Sara, finish it now, don't let him drink the contents of that jar!" – As if she had seen the devil himself, Callisto looked horrified when contemplating the concoction that the elf was holding. His body trembled completely, evoking in his memories a dark past that had a lot to do with the origin of that object.
"It's too late, Callisto, too late for all of you" – Drinking the contents of the jar, Gamaliel put his hands to his neck as if he were suffocating. Writhing in pain on the ground as she tore up some of the grass with her hands, Sara went straight at him to take advantage of the opening in order to deliver the coup de grace.
It was in that instant that the arcane elf's skin began to darken a shadowy shade of blue and his eyes glowed like coals in a fire. On his skin a series of runic symbols began to be drawn with lines of fire, leaving tattoos that covered the entire body. His hair turned white and sharp fangs could be seen from his mouth at the moment he gave a blood-curdling scream.
Gamaliel had become a dark elf, an abomination within the elven race that was reckoned in their historical records. Originally the black wing potion was a concoction that the arcane elves concocted during the eras of dragon warfare . Its effect was to amplify the user's power at the cost of sacrificing part of their life expectancy.
The guards who still survived Sara's attacks followed their lord and drank the elixir in the same way, becoming opponents for the fire witch as well. Due to the potential of the potion, users who did not have enough magical proficiency ended up as mindless beasts. Only subject to the wish of the most powerful dark elf.
"As I told you, teacher, I am no longer the child you could belittle with your superiority" – Without even being able to put up a guard, Gamaliel launched himself completely against Sara, landing a brutal blow to her chest. The sound of bones breaking and blood flying from his mouth as he fell made me burst with rage, cursing Gamaliel for his cowardice.
Turning his face to me, the dark elf did not hide his anger and contempt, inching forward trying to induce fear in me. But her expression looked more annoyed when she saw that my anger was so great that fear didn't take over me.
As soon as he had me within his reach, he held my neck tightly and lifted me off the ground while squeezing his fingers tightly, enjoying the moment. Little by little I felt that its claws were digging into my skin and I was increasingly short of air. Taking the dagger that he was carrying at his waist, that beast made a slight cut on his tongue. I could barely maintain awareness of the brutality of his grip, but what followed made me react violently.
With his thumbs he forced my jaw open and then he spat some of his blood into it. My vocal cords began to ache as if a burning liquid were corroding them, the pain was so intense that it made me moan in pain as I struggled to hold my breath.
"Much better, beasts must not speak. Just growl like you're doing now you fucking human trash. Stay here while you contemplate how I finish off your dear teacher" - Throwing myself violently against the ground, I felt as if my right shoulder had been dislocated. He could no longer speak, he could only make guttural sounds unintelligible to the human ear.
Dark elf blood was something really toxic for any species, in the case of humans it was like rattlesnake venom. For the amount that I spilled inside me, there was no risk of dying from poisoning, but the damage to the tissues was such that the stabbing pain was almost unbearable.
Lying on the ground, still unable to recover, Sara tried by all means to get her hands to the stone on her necklace. Not caring about it, Gamaliel thought that it was a common magic stone and continued walking towards it as if it were invincible.
That was the biggest mistake the reckless sorcerer could have made, as it gave Grandma enough time to use her trump card. The moment the stone shattered, a brilliant light enveloped her, blinding the enemies around her.
Trying to cover his eyes with his arms, Gamaliel ran as fast as he could to try to sink his claws into Sara's chest. But her hand was held with such force that the sound of her breaking bones was soon drowned out by her cries of pain.
"Your pride has led you and your men to their own destruction, my student. I was looking for some redemption for you with your death, but I have realized that your soul is beyond all salvation" - With an imposing figure that barely touched the ground with the tips of her toes, Sara had used one of spells forbidden within the elven race.
Unlike the taboo that the dark elf potion implied , the spell she was using was forbidden because once used, the user's power would eventually consume her body to nothing.
Last Will was a spell that was passed down from generation to generation, with the purpose of giving the clan of elves a chance against an adversary that was impossible to defeat under normal circumstances. Only the successors to the position of patriarch were aware of such a spell, but in the case of Sara, being the teacher of countless apprentices, I tried to have the knowledge of that spell at her disposal.
"You should always be prepared for the worst scenario" – These were the words that she constantly repeated to me with each magic lesson that we carried out. And looking at her at that moment, I fully understood the meaning of that sentence.
Her appearance and shape were no longer that of an old woman's body; instead, a rejuvenated figure that radiated light was what was present before Gamaliel. Who was struggling to break free from the grip of Sara's enormous strength.
Giving an order to his minions, the dark elves attacked Sara's body without any success in their attack. Instead, with a flick of her wrist, the proud witch dealt forceful blows using Gamaliel's body as a club.
The dark elf's crumpled figure cried out in pain as he struck his men with blow after blow. The guards' blood and entrails flew into the air, setting the scene for a bloody frenzy worthy of a massacre.
When that macabre dance came to an end, the light emanating from Sara's body began to fade. Making the towering elf fall to her knees looking straight up at the night sky.
Little by little her skin eroded like dust while her lips moved incapable of making any sound. Only from a distance with great effort could I perceive what was the intention of his heart in his last words: "I have been able to avenge you"
Crawling with the little strength I had left to Calisto, I tried to reach the keys that had been left in the body of the guard who was escorting her. It was at that moment that a pair of imposing helmets stood in front of us.
Virgilio had arrived just in time to free Callisto, or so I thought. Instead, when I approached my hands to the keys, the centaur took them and threw them into the distance. What was happening? Why was Virgilio acting in such a way?
Many questions began to accumulate in my thoughts, but the fact that he was not present to save Callisto when Gamaliel appeared in front of us. Or look for us in the cave of the dwarfs to warn us, was something I tried to deny in my mind, but it was the only possible answer: Virgilio was a traitor.
"Virgilio, why did you do that? Explain yourself immediately" – With her voice broken by tears, Calisto rebuked the centaur without getting any response from him. I just take her by the waist, taking her against her will while she left me abandoned in that place in the forest.
I couldn't believe it, I sincerely wished it was a lie. But Virgil's attitude was something that could not be explained simply. Completely dejected and without strength, she was about to lose consciousness. It was then that I felt that someone began to drag me slowly holding my arms.
The low light due to the eclipse and the state Sara induced me to prevent me from seeing her face clearly. But a familiar aroma made me feel calm, abandoning my strength completely, making me lose consciousness from the pain.
"Hey, did you see the new Silent Mountain promo? It seems that they are going to get out of the canon line of the story to reinterpret it" – Within my memories while I was unconscious, the image of the face of a high school classmate appeared before me. Vanesa was a girl with allergy problems who used to miss classes often when they got complicated; Most of her life was spent between hospitals and confined to her home.
Despite her isolated behavior, associating with her didn't seem all bad to me. In fact, it was she who sought me out, perhaps because she felt identified with our loneliness, or more because of our coincidences with horror games.
In the time that I studied at the university, it could be said that we managed to achieve a year together between ups and downs due to his health problems and the times that I used to visit him in the hospital. They say that human beings take it for granted that the people who share our time will always be there, but the truth is that everything has an end. No matter what.
One autumn afternoon, as always, I was preparing to go to take his notes on the compilers' course. I remember well that that day the wind felt slightly humid and fresh, as if a storm was about to arrive.
The scent of disinfectant in the hospital corridor was so pungent that just inhaling it made my nose itch slightly. Taking a handkerchief to wipe my runny nose, I thought it would be funny to see Vanessa's red nose. His pale skin made him look like a snowman that had been given an apple instead of a carrot.
When I was about to knock on the door of his room, a murmur very similar to crying made me hesitate for a moment. By the time I pluck up the courage, the door opened letting me see his father with his eyes completely red from tears.
On the bed, a disconsolate mother was clinging to a body that had been covered by the sheet for a few minutes. During all the time that we knew each other, Vanessa was never completely honest with me. Apparently the allergies he had were nothing more than laryngeal cancer and the repeated visits to the hospital were to give him chemotherapy.
When I entered the room and tried to get closer to her bed, her mother's hand clung to mine so tightly that I could feel my skin getting hurt. "This is the pain that a mother feels when losing a child? " – It was what I thought in the depths of my being while enduring that scene and I couldn't help feeling jealous of the only friend I ever had.
"I thought you would go like dad and grandma, I'm glad you're okay" - Crying with deep sadness, the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Edith's face soaked with tears and her cheeks red. Just a few hours ago she had just lost her entire family and bitterly discovered that the elven tribe saw her as unclean.
Completely surrounded by lies, her soul experienced a great breakdown that made her lose all the stoic composure with which she had always come to see her. The image she could see now was of a loveless, abandoned child, someone without anything to hold on to for life. But her hands holding mine with all her strength made me realize that it was a great responsibility that she now had with me.
Feeling guilty that I couldn't save my teacher, I vowed to protect him no matter what might happen to me. The only thing missing was to recover Calisto and discover who was behind that plot.
Both Virgil and Gamaliel did not act alone to commit this betrayal, so he felt he had to get to the bottom of all this. After drinking some elixirs that Edith took from her house while escaping from Gamaliel's men, I felt that my body had recovered enough to start moving.
My throat was still damaged from the effects of the dark elf blood, so I couldn't chant the runic chants to cast the spells. Unless I had my staff, any magic attack would be useless as I couldn't fully channel my power.
Taking advantage of the fact that we were still in the last hours of the night, we began to move north in search of help from the dwarves. On our way we tried to hide from Gamaliel's minions by crawling through the grass, trying to make as little noise as possible.
After a few hours, our clothes were completely dirty by mud and grass, our skin had been abraded by friction against the partly rocky ground. The exhaustion of that strenuous flight from our stalkers, little by little forced us to take breaks hiding in the overgrown undergrowth adjacent to the trees.
"I can't believe that brat is so slippery" - Taking my hand to Edith's mouth while holding her against me so as not to be seen by the guards, I was able to hear much of the situation in which the forest was. .
In his despair over Callisto's impending death, Virgil had made a deal with a commander of the Imperial army from Alberon . In exchange for gaining control over the lake in Medea Forest, he was offered the help of a renowned sorcerer within the imperial family of Sigfired . The name of that royal house was none other than that of the ruling empress of the territory of Alberon . The cause of Amelia's death and a host of other unfortunates who had been unfortunate enough to find themselves in her path.
Even if Virgilio did all that motivated by the desire to save Callisto, my heart could not forgive him. Because of his actions, Edith's life had been almost completely destroyed, leaving a defenseless creature to be orphaned and under the contemptuous gazes of the people who were supposed to love and protect her.
" Hitomi , I'm very thirsty" – With her eyes tired from lack of sleep, Edith's lips were dry due to dehydration from our long walk. Worried for her, I decided to leave her in the hollow of one of the trees while I looked for a clearing of water to fill a bowl.
Crouching low so as not to be seen in the distance, I approached a clearing we had seen on the way to the dwarven village. No matter where we directed our gaze, there was no more water than that of that small clearing for many meters.
After taking a sip of the water to test if it wasn't poisoned, I washed my face a bit to wake up from the dream. As soon as I plunged the bowl into the water, a hand grabbed my hair from behind and slammed me to the ground.
From his appearance and the armor he wore, there was no doubt that he was one of the knights of the Alberon army . Trying to defend myself from that brute, I managed to scratch his face with my nails and tried to run away from him, but he quickly grabbed my leg and knocked me down once more.
Such was the rage that that subject felt, that he lashed out at my face with his fists, barely managing to get my hands in to reduce the force of the impact. I felt dizzy from the bruises I was receiving, and the voice still couldn't come from my lips.
With no spells and almost no strength, I looked around me if there was anything I could defend myself with. It was then that I remembered the vine ability Callisto used to use to subdue her enemies.
Without the need for chants, I could only watch it perform twice, but I knew that to master that skill, it is enough for the user to master the mana flow of living things. "I was ordered to take any prisoner alive, but with you I will say that it was the elves who killed you bitch!" – Taking his sword to stick it into my chest, that guy stood over me thinking I was an easy prey.
But soon a sound erupted from the ground and with it, a root from the trees grew in the shape of a spear that stuck under his jaw. Leaving his body with his arms hanging as if it were a doll.
Having finished off my assailant, I made the roots of the trees drag his body into the ground so as not to leave evidence for the watchmen to know where we were. After checking my face, I saw that one of my eyes had collapsed and my field of vision was considerably reduced.
Without taking it too seriously, I decided to go back to Edith to wake her up and leave as soon as possible. The first rays of the sun were beginning to appear in the sky and our escape was becoming more and more complicated.
After three hours, we had finally reached the edge of the dwarf tribe's lands. The strength in my legs began to fail me and fatigue took hold of me. During the last leg of our trip, Edith could no longer walk due to the damage to the soles of her feet. So I had to carry her the rest of the way making the pain in my shoulders feel like they would fall off my arms at any second.
"But what in the name of the goddess has happened?" – Coming out to meet us, Mauricio took Edith and asked one of his assistants to take me inside his hut. As the minutes passed, I wrote on a piece of paper explaining the situation to the head of the tribe in order to make a contingency plan to recover Queen Calisto.
With the severity of my injuries and Edith's, Mauricio insisted on stopping us from making any movement before we were fully recovered. Without my staff it was impossible to face the army that surrounded the forest and it was at least two more days until the clay of the rainbow stone was ready.
We had no options and time was our worst enemy. As the hours passed, the chances of rescuing Calisto became less and less. But throwing yourself without the slightest preparation meant suicide.
While Edith rested in one of the chief's rooms, Mauricio and I discussed the strategy to follow to face the enemy. According to the information gathered by his men, the invading army had two regiments of 300 soldiers each and each regiment was supported by 20 magicians who perfectly mastered level 4 circles.
The empress had taken her invasion plan very seriously, since she waited for the lunar eclipse for the greatest resistance in the forest to fall without much effort.
"Child, be honest with me. Did the old hag die peacefully?" – With his hands together holding a jar of wild strawberry liqueur, the old man did not dare to look up while he told him all the events that had occurred with teacher Sara.
The tears of pain and sorrow that I shed were the sincere evidence of the lament of a good friend who had lost a comrade. I wanted to comfort him by putting my hand on his shoulder, but I didn't dare to do it so as not to make him more uncomfortable.
Our talk continued until nightfall, time had passed so quickly between the preparations and the information shared, that the time to rest had arrived. For the next morning my weapon would be ready and my body was already almost completely healed; instead my voice could not return to its original form. A harsh tone like that of a man was what I was left with thanks to Gamaliel's attack.
I honestly didn't care, I never had a pretty or very feminine voice. But I would be lying if I said that I totally liked it.
Lying in bed next to Edith, I hugged her to comfort her as the poor girl cried her sleep for her father and grandmother. But in my thoughts there was a detail that Mauricio mentioned during our talk in the afternoon: "One of the sorcerers seemed to hide his level, since the examination stones of our spies did not yield information. Most likely it is a high level sorcerer and you must be prepared for the worst" – Those words continued in my mind throughout the night, not allowing me to sleep due to stress.