Tension gripped the air of the Blightheart manor as every member that lived within knew something was brewing. All of them started heading towards the front courtyard and just outside their gates they saw numerous vampires, all from the Blackfang clan, walking into their territory.
As they saw the vampires enter into their manor's courtyard, they all started to whisper and kick up a fuss, wondering why they were so brazenly coming here in such large numbers. After a moment of conversing though, they spotted Graham and Jason walking out the Manors front entrance, both with stoic and cold expressions. Seeing these expressions on the family heads face and his brothers as well, they knew that something big had happened.
Graham and Jason walked out front and stood, patiently awaiting the Blackfang clans' entry. Their expressions both solemn as they watched the vampires enter through the gates and into their manor's courtyard.
At the forefront of the Blackfang clan members was Felix, followed by Rufus who led the numerous other members. The amount of clan members they had brought over was a show of power as well as a warning that if this went south without a good resolution, they were ready for a fight. Graham personally felt huge pressure fall on his shoulders, realising that this situation really could end up in bloodshed.
As the vampires came to a halt, they stood staring at the Blighthearts manor and its surroundings, as if scoping out the territory watching for an unnecessary movement and ready to act at a moment's notice. Felix's eyes also scanned the surrounding Blackfang courtyard, landing on different members of the family who were watching them enter with bated breath.
As the vampires of the Blackfangs stood within the courtyard, the air around Blightheart manor seemed to come to a standstill. Graham and Jason stared at both Felix and Rufus with knowing eyes, a clash of gazes stirred the surroundings before Graham spoke first;
"Felix, to what do I owe the pleasure".
As Graham broke the ice, the tension in the air rose and felt tangible to those present. Felix's eyes grew colder staring at the Blighthearts Family Head.
His cold voice sprung force, sending shivers down the spines of the weaker Blightheart family members watching on;
"You know why I'm here Graham…"
Felix's eyes trailed from Grahams over to Jasons. His gaze that was cold showed hints of wrath as his eyes locked onto Jasons and his gaze became resolute as his eyes briefly looked to Jason's pouch. Jason seeing Felix's gaze meet his snickered.
"That man 2 years ago slaughtered 3 of our clan members, infiltrating our clan in the process. This act breaks the pact of the forest birthed many years ago, He brazenly infiltrated our clan just to find a boy to use for his vile experiments, a boy that was under our custody at the time".
The surrounding Blightheart family members all paled hearing the accusations from Felix, some of the smarter members started to piece together already what was going on. Those years back, mention of an obscurus and Jason's obsession with it was brought to the table by Sidious. They knew their family's researcher was possessive and crazy, but if he did what Felix had claimed his craziness had reached an entire new realm.
Graham's gaze remained resolute, as the head of his family he couldn't show weakness at these accusations, carefully navigating the current situation;
"Then what do you call what you're doing right now Felix? Bringing so many men to the heart of our territory, isn't this breaching the pact you are preaching about?"
Felix snorted hearing Grahams words.
"This is just us upholding justice, we are within our right to demand an explanation from that man there… besides I did send you a letter informing of this".
Felix's gaze showed hints of aloofness as he pointed out the letter that was sent to Graham recently. Graham clicked his tongue hearing Felix's words. Meanwhile, Jason who Felix demanded information from spoke coarsely;
"I don't know what you're talking about Felix, I've been researching something new these past few years and have rarely ever left the manor…".
Felix scoffed. "Researching something? An obscurus perhaps?"
Jason's gaze stayed unwavering, feigning ignorance he spoke. "An obscurus? Why would I research such a thing…"
Rufus felt his rage boil over hearing Jason's blatant lies. As he stepped forward to speak, Felix stopped him and spoke up again;
"We have some evidence here that may shed light on why we accuse you…"
Felix beckoned Rufus to bring out the evidence they had. Rufus then threw a brick onto the floor in front of Graham and Jason, on the brick were etched the letters;
'J.Blightheart'
The Blightheart family members all looked at the brick with confusion whilst Jason's face turned ugly.
His face didn't mirror the feelings in his heart though. Seeing this break, he cursed that damned 'subject' in his mind over and over. Realising that what he thought was a weak 8- no 10-year-old boy now was actually a boy with such a conniving and calculated mind. However, …
"You really think this is enough evidence, Felix? Any of you could have etched stone with my brother's name to frame him". Graham spoke first, dodging the blame on behalf of Jason whose emotions were boiling.
Felix expected this reaction, turning to Rufus he nodded signalling what was about to happen next. Rufus stood back as Felix unsheathed his sword, the ethereal brilliant white light shone lighting up the courtyard and all its features, the decorated fountain in the centre reflected the light coming from Felix's sword as he held It to his chest.
Seeing Felix unsheathe his sword, the surrounding Blightheart family members all grabbed their wands ready for a battle. Graham and Felix also raised their wands slowly, awaiting an attack.
To their surprise however, Felix didn't attack, remaining in a stationary position. His sword however kept growing brighter until suddenly something seemed to come out of the sword.
An ethereal ball of white flew into the air and materialised in front of them. Jason's face dropped as he recognised the form it was morphing into.
Jason now feeling tensions rising spoke. "This- Felix, what sort of illusions are you trying to play on us!?"
Felix sheathed his sword and looked at the ball of light form into the ghost of his fallen commander, Caius.
Caius had no expression on his face, seemingly aloof at the current situation despite his 'killer' being in front of him. Felix's heart ached having to do this to a clan member of his own, but this was the only way to gain more proof, not for the sake of the pact but more for himself…
"This is my own ancient martial magic, Spectre Requiem. Using this on a corpse allows me to extract its soul for a period of time, creating a ghost. That time lengthens dependant on how recent the death was, Caius has been dead for 2 years so I could only bring him out here briefly…".
Everyone watching these events unfold looked at the ghost of Caius with different expressions. Jason's anxiousness grew, Graham's calm was wavering, the Blightheart family members hearts dropping and the Blackfang vampires rage only growing by the moment.
"The ghost acts not like any other ghost you may meet… its will has been lost, its nothing but a shell that simply answer questions. However, it answers these questions truthfully every time…".
Looking at the ghost of Caius, Graham felt sweat drip from his brow. The Blighthearts gathered information on all the surrounding clans hoping one day to siege them all when the 'vein' was ready to lead, however seeing Felix's masterful display of martial magic he realised deep down they had underestimated the Head of the Blackfangs' all this time.
"Felix, whilst I respect the display you've put on how do we know this is not just an illusion magic and you are making up this 'spectre requiem' magic you've allegedly used…".
Graham still refused to back down, finding holes in Felix's methods as much as he could. He knew his brother had definitely committed the crimes being placed on him, however if he decided to give his brother up, they would lose their sole researcher and potion master. Not only that, he would lose his brother that despite everything he still cared for deep in his heart.
Felix ignored Graham's words completely. At this point Graham started to realise that Felix hadn't come here simply to accuse and convict, but to convince himself overall that Jason was truly the man who assaulted his clan members, the prospect of which frightened him a bit as Felix may do something radical.
"Caius, is that your name?".
The ghost nodded, its expression still as a lake. Felix gaze grew sombre by the moment looking at his fallen commander.
"Did you die within our clan, protecting the cells of our clan that housed a boy at the time?"
The ghost again nodded, no expression still on its face.
"Was the man who killed you a member of the Blightheart family?"
The ghost nodded, now looking towards Jason with a still vacant expression.
As the tensions rose in the atmosphere with the ghost's confession, the surrounding Blightheart family members who had arrived outside were all starting to feel nervous at what was to come. Even though the evidence was still not concrete, they all knew in their hearts Jason most likely did kill 3 clan members from the Blackfang clan, especially with the obscurus boy being involved.
They sensed that any moment a fight could break out and some of them clenched their wands tightly awaiting the slightest movement from any of the Blackfang vampires.
As Jason watched the ghosts testimony, his anxiety and boiling rage came to a head. He shouted out at Felix in anger;
"This still doesn't prove anything Felix! You are just throwing baseless accusations with a fake etched in stone and an illusion! Theres no hard PROOF!".
Graham stayed silent watching this all unfold. Meanwhile the Blackfang clan members all looked at Felix, noting that what Jason said was not necessarily wrong. The stone and Ghost of Caius were points of evidence they believed but they weren't proof enough in the grand scheme of things. Felix however remained calm and looked at Jason.
"When the boy was taken from our cells, he had a device on his chest. We searched our clan and the cell he was in for this and could not find the device anywhere. Do you know what im referring to Jason".
Jason's expression fell hearing Felix's words. Graham turned his head to his brother noting that his brother was becoming worried and his expression fell in tangent as well, realising they were losing ground. Felix continued to talk;
"The device that was on him is called the 'Eclipse Sigil'. This device siphons magical energy and was a torture method used by an ancient magical family years ago I came into contact with. I destroyed that family and took the sigil back to my clan for safekeeping, only wanting to use it if necessary…".
Felix unsheathed his sword again, this time pointing towards Jason.
"The sigil was marked with my magic, as a means to track it if someone ever revolted in my clan or if some unwelcome visitor decided to take it... All the evidence I gained was not to convince you or the other clans and families in the forest of your crime but more to convince myself that you were truly the culprit; a way to tell myself that it was truly you that had done this so my next actions were unwavering. The brick could have been faked, Caius words however would never be and I was convinced the moment he pointed you out. I thought you were smart Jason, but keeping that sigil was the biggest mistake you could have made, before I even began to speak when we first entered into your courtyard here, I knew it was you…"
Felix's sword glowed a deep azure colour, he pointed the sword not towards Jason but instead the pouch hanging on his hip.
Jason realising what was about to happened closed the bag tightly, however that didn't stop what happened next.
A small device, with runes ancient runes surrounding the centre jumped out of Jason's pouch and flew through the air. Felix grabbed the sigil out of the air as it flew towards him. Looking down at the device, he turned it around showing the back of the sigil to everyone present.
"You may be able to dodge evidence like the brick and even the ghost of my fallen commander, but this… this is hard evidence of your infiltration into my clan".
The device started to glow a deep red, as if being activated in some way. On the back of the device slowly appeared a crest, the Blackfang families crest. This proved that the device was marked by them and was truly theres.
The etched brick, the ghost of Caius and now the device with the Blackfang sigil. Three pieces of evidence was always better than just one.
If Felix only showed one piece of evidence this would have fallen through but 3 pieces of evidence was different, the Blackfangs already knew of Jasons involvement so their expressions remained unchanged, but the Blightheart family members who were in and around the surrounding courtyard all took a stance, knowing that a fight was about to break out now at any moment.
Jason and Graham did the same as well, readying themselves for the moment the fight would start. Felix looked at the sigil in his hand for a moment before raising his head to look at Jason.
"With all this evidence my will is now unwavering, Jason Blightheart it was definetly you who killed my clan members those years back and you have certainly broken the pact of this forest, you will die TODAY!".
As Felix yelled his last word, his eyes shone a crimson red. Both swords at his hip were unsheathed in a moment and both imbued with a deep crimson red as well. He looked like the devil as his aura painted his surroundings red as well. In that moment he charged towards both Graham and Jason, slashing both swords down at each of them.
As Felix made his move so did everyone else present. In what felt like a millisecond, the courtyard that was still from tension erupted into a myriad of spells and clashes. Screams and yells coated the courtyard as a brawl between Blightheart and Blackfang began.
All diplomacy was thrown to the wind and history was about to change due to this day…
.
The bangs outside the manor echoed down into the cell I was kept in, rubble seemed to fall off the walls and ceilings as a brawl so big it was shaking the very foundations of where I was being kept happened outside.
Hearing the clashes outside, I knew that this was it- my only chance to escape. If the clashes I heard were truly the Blackfangs and Blighthearts clashing then it was only now I could grasp this chance.
Feeling the obscurus energy in me finally following my will even more than when I first drank the potion. I had mused before of the possibility of wielding it but as time passed since the day I drank the potion; I felt this possibility- that slim hope within me become a reality as my control became more and more thorough. This force that once haunted me had become my greatest strength, although getting to this point required me to suffer for more than I wished id ever had…
Looking at the wall in front of me, I knew that I was being watched. After 2 years of being here, it was obvious to me at this point I was being monitored. Whenever I passed out, screamed, cried, begged or something else happened to me Jason always seemed to appear. I know Jason would never deign himself to sit here and watch me all day so it must be the house-elf id see on occasion that would accompany him
A house-elf was exactly what I needed to make this plan work.
The bangs outside grew more and more vivid, as I heard them echoing down into the room, I was in I spoke towards the wall in front of me.
"Hey, House-elf, are you there".
Nothing. Not even a response. I knew he was watching me but he had no intention of disobeying his masters command, simply remaining an observer. I didn't care about this though, I kept on speaking knowing I would eventually get him to respond.
"I know you are there house-elf, you always seem to help heal me after that man does his experiments… can you also hear the chaos outside?".
Still nothing… however despite this I had the instinctual feeling that the elf on the other side of the wall was growing nervous. I don't know where this feeling came from but I trusted it and kept talking.
"If that chaos reaches here, I may be harmed. If I were to be harmed, what would your master do to you?"
As this sentence left my mouth, silence embedded the room for a few moments and then in the next moment a house elf appeared in front of me. Looking at me with fearful eyes he spoke;
"M-Master only told m-me to observe…"
"I'm sure he did… but if I were to be crushed here by the battle above or harmed in anyway. What would he do to you? My guess is you'd be dead after suffering similar methods of 'research' I have suffered…".
Dron's expression wavered, his logic and reasoning clashing. He had to follow his master's orders and he was told since the start to keep the boy alive. Yet, moving him from this room was risky and felt like a dangerous move.
"It's Dron right? Look all you have to do is apparate me out of here but just keep my restraints on. I'm only a young boy, do you really think I can break out of these restraints that easily?".
I displayed this by trying to move but not budging at all. The chair continued to keep me bound. The more I spoke, the more Dron started to walk closer to me as if his mind was making itself up as he heard my words. After more talk from me mainly convincing him, he eventually came up close to me and spoke.
"F-Fine, Dron does agree with what you are s-saying…"
As Dron placed his hand on my knee, my bargaining gaze grew cold. Looking at the little elf about to transport me out of here. I clenched my fists.
My vision in the next moment blurred, and suddenly I was outside the manor and could see from where I was sat the chaos we heard from below.
Vampires of the Blackfangs closed in on the different witches and wizards from the Blightheart family at all angles, trying to force them into close-combat. Meanwhile the Blightheart members were keeping them at a distance, casting different spells to retaliate.
From the current distance I was away from the manor, I could barely see into the courtyard and within corpses were littered all over. The fight had escalated to the point where the clashes were outside the clans' walls as well as within the manor itself. The manors foundations were crumbling under the spells and martial magic being thrown around and what would have been a stunning manor was becoming ruined by the moment.
Looking at the battle-torn courtyard where the fight must have started, bodies littered the ground and the grass was dyed with blood.
Near the entrance of the manor, I could just barely see 3 figures fighting. I only recognised Jason, whom id come to get well 'acquainted' with after spending 2 years here. He was fighting alongside someone who looked similar to him, probably his brother, and they were both fighting a man clad in red who was able to keep both of them on the defensive at all times.
"That must be Felix…"
Rufus wasn't kidding those years back when he spoke about Felix, he truly had the right to be the head of that clan. He was strong enough to keep a tricky wizard like Jason at bay as well as his brother.
Dron looked over at the battle with fear in his eyes, his moment of distraction as he turned away from me gave me the chance I needed. Guiding the obscurus I had now brought more under my control, I directly eroded away my constraints. As I felt my hands and legs free, I coated my fist with the obscurus' energy.
Launching my fist forward, I brutally smacked the back of Dron's head. He fell to the floor instantly with a thump, the energy of the obscurus left an after effect on his head that seemed to decay around the wound I left.
Looking at the effect my 'obscurus fist' had, I realised the potential for this power was maybe far more than I could have initially thought. If imbuing my fist with my obscurus caused this effect… what if I was able to imbue other things as well, like spells…
I stared at the battle for a moment longer before darting off into the forest as fast as I could.
if this fight didn't destroy the Blighthearts I would return when I learned to harness this strength in the future. I would destroy them for confining me here and I would specially make Jason suffer if he were to survive…