Soon, Elvira was going to leave for Onnanor, one of the greatest warlock kingdoms. She was standing outside the village with her sister, waiting for their uncle. She wore a deep purple satin dress with laces and frills. Eldritch Payne soon joined them. His clothes were finer than usual.
"What should we expect there, uncle?" asked Leona, "We have heard many tales of its king's cruelty and viciousness. Is he something we should fear?" Leona looked more scared than she was in Berkton, hiding from the wizards.
"There is one thing I can tell you for now as we're short on time. King Agror is not a foe to his kind. He may have done terrible things, but war or torture upon his kind is not one of them," he answered.
Eldritch buttoned his cuffs. "Now come along. A spell can only get us near Onnanor. From there, we travel on horseback to get to the castle."
"Why?" asked Elvira.
"A spell guards the lands and prevents any magical creature from teleporting anywhere near it," he answered.
Elvira and Leona both opened their mouth at once to say more.
Eldritch asked them to stop with the show of a hand. "I know you have more questions, girls. Bombard me with them once we're on a horse."
His uncle didn't delay the teleportation spell anymore. In a matter of moments, they were out of the ruins of the Phantom River into barren hills with little vegetation. Gigantic rocky mountains surrounded the hills. Elvira was expecting something far creepier than that.
Three horses were grazing in some distance. Eldritch mounted one and said, "Get on your horses and continue with your endless questions. The distance to the castle is of a few hours. We might have time to cover a fraction of your questions." He passed them a lopsided grin.
"Don't worry, it won't take that long, "said Elvira, mounting her horse. "I am going to go first. Leona can have her turn once we're inside the castle. Her questions are pointless anyway."
"Hey! Unlike you, I realize the urgency of the situation. I don't wish to overwhelm our dear uncle with my excellent questions, by the way," said Leona, and the other two burst into laughter.
Elvira, however, couldn't miss a golden chance. Until two days ago, no one wanted to speak about anything.
"Why is Onnanor still standing and Zovell, our kingdom, fell?" asked Elvira. "Our kingdom was inside a sleeping volcano, whereas Agror's kingdom is in plain sight. Why don't the wizards attack him?"
Her uncle looked grim. "It's because we focused on location, whereas Agror has power guarding his kingdom."
"What magical force? What kind of magic could stand in the wizard's way? If they unite to break the spell off, why wouldn't it work?" Elvira asked.
"This is no ordinary magic. Agror has pleased the underworld deities more than anyone else. Riion's spell is protecting Onnanor," answered Eldritch. His face fell. "I don't know the entirety of their alliance with Agror, as I left Zovell at a very young age."
Elvira studied the lands. "So no one can teleport directly to his kingdom, but we teleported to these hills. What is stopping a wizard army from doing the same?"
"Dark entities loyal to Agror and Riion are watching over these lands. They are silent because they know who we are. Only allies can pass with permission. If we were the king's enemies, we would have to face a different outcome," answered Eldritch.
Now that she had heard of the king's power, she was tempted to meet him and listen to what he had planned to deal with the magic portal.
"There is something you two need to know, I know…" Eldritch began
"What?" Leona interjected. "Please don't say we need to go to war against the wizards. I'll be the first one to die."
"Easy, my niece. War is highly probable, but nothing's for sure. What I want to share with you is more of a family matter. King Agror has proposed marriage to Lilith, your mother," said Eldritch.
Elvira couldn't believe her ears. "She refused, right?"
"No, she has accepted his proposal. In times like these, our coven is in grave danger. We are defenseless against a wizard army. King Agror promises our coven members shelter in his kingdom. Lilith thinks it's our best chance of surviving. For centuries, we have relied on hiding, as we can never rebuild what we lost." Her uncle had a look of obligation on his face. He did agree with Lilith's decision.
"How is this marriage going to work? Lilith worships Daxaos, and Agror still worships Riion," asked Elvira.
"I am not sure. We are in dire need of help," said Eldritch.
Leona screamed in panic, "So now we belong to Agror? How would he treat his stepdaughters? I don't want to be someone's slave. Our mother is already difficult enough. I'll suffocate under the command of someone fifty times worse than her."
"Girls, you know nothing about him!" his regular tone switched to frustration. "Lilith is going to marry Agror, so she is the one who shall be bound to him. If the king pushes us off our limits, we'll leave. Just trust me on this."
There was nothing else to say. Elvira trusted her uncle. The only thing left was to go to Onnanor and analyze the situation herself.
They reached the walls of Onnanor in a few hours. Warlocks in uniforms confirmed their identity and escorted them to the castle on the back of griffins. Seeing these exotic creatures up close and personal was an extraordinary experience. She had seen many wild griffins in the forest but had never ridden a tamed one.
The griffin was a creature with half the body of a lion and an eagle. She had always wanted a flying pet, but her mother would never allow it.
Onnanor was a heavily fortified city. A servant was controlling her griffin while Elvira admired the beauty of the view. Beneath her, she saw the vast twinkling city. It was peculiar to see a stream in the kingdom when the surrounding lands were barren. It was a brilliant example of the wonders magic could do.
Warlocks and witches were no beasts with a liking for ugly and dull things. They enjoyed glamorous things as much as a human. They did, however, do ugly deeds and worship horrendous deities.
They landed directly in front of the castle. The castle was tall, with an abnormal number of towers. Its dominant colors were grey and white.
Upon hearing that the meeting had started, they rushed into the great hall.
Her eyes were immediately drawn to the man on the throne in the great hall, despite the large crowd. It was her first time seeing King Agror. Probably because of Lilith's betrothal to Agror, their reserved seats were just in front of the throne. Her view of the king was clear from where she sat. He was nothing like she had imagined.
He had almost white platinum long blonde hair. His skin was paler than anyone Elvira had ever seen. His eyes seemed to lack any melanin as well. The picture of him in her mind was of a fierce-looking ugly warlock, whereas the king was strangely attractive. His features were also more on the softer side.
The king got up from his throne. He was tall and had a broad upper body visible through his kingly attire. He walked towards the audience like he ruled everyone and everything in that room. Elvira was already unimpressed with his pride.
"I am thankful to you all for coming on such short notice," he began, "This problem is not mine or yours, it's ours, and it's time we unite and take action. For those who have refused to partake, we can only hope they survive whatever our enemies have planned for us. Only a coward would turn their back on war." His voice was deep and commanding. It made Elvira wonder about their future, living under his roof. As Lilith's daughter, she didn't dare disobey her, and now that scary man would be her stepfather.
He began talking about the magical portal. Things she had already learned from her uncle. She was still paying attention until her mother entered and sat next to his throne.
Her mother, Grand Enchantress Lillith Cain, was a dominant character and wouldn't tolerate her authority getting challenged by anyone in their village. She, however, was a clever woman and knew exactly how to charm men to wrap them around her little finger. Inside the coven, she was only an authoritative figure, but to others, she presented herself in a different light.
Although her mother was older than Eldritch, she had the appearance of a young woman. It was as if she were a porcelain doll come to life. It was made possible by Daxaos, one of the underworld deities who gifted youth and beauty to her.
Elvira moved her attention back to the king.
"Four wizards are behind this," Agror began. "Others don't care how we live. The names of the four so-called righteous leaders were difficult to discover. The first name is Lord Doharis. I took care of him with my own hands a while ago. That wizard had also contributed to the fall of the Kingdom of Zovell."
Elvira couldn't believe Agror slayed a wizard lord. No wonder his peers respected him.
"The second is lord Egeor. I gladly have information on his whereabouts and have a plan to attack him soon," he said. King Agror was truly a man who could get things done, she thought to herself.
"The third is Queen Imari. She'll be next after Egeor," said Agror.
"The fourth is King Efeus," he continued. "Unfortunately, his name is all I have on him. I tortured a thousand wizards to obtain that."
King Efeus was the name she overheard in Berkton. She glanced at her uncle, who was carefully listening to the king's words. The one thing she neglected to mention to him was the name she had heard. Were Wivior and his companions any close to that wizard king? Should she tell King Agror that right away? Or perhaps she should wait till the meeting was over. Someone needed to know as soon as possible!