The dawn broke over Cadris in a fiery blaze of crimson and gold, painting the sky with the promise of a new day. But for Kaelen, it was nothing more than a reminder that the game he had set into motion was nearing its climax. The Mage Lords had made their choice. And now, it was time for the price to be paid.
He stood at the edge of the city, gazing out over the rolling hills that surrounded the sprawling metropolis. The streets below were quiet for the moment, as if the world itself was holding its breath. Kaelen could feel the shift in the air, the subtle change that marked the beginning of a new era. Soon, everything would be different.
Behind him, a door creaked open, and the footsteps of his most trusted ally echoed in the empty chamber. Kaelen didn't turn, for he already knew who it was. In a place like this, the only ones who came to him unannounced were the few who had earned his trust—and the only one who had earned his trust beyond reason was the one who had been his shadow from the beginning.
"You've done it," Lady Seraphine's voice cut through the silence, calm but laced with an undercurrent of unease.
Kaelen's lips curved into a slight, knowing smile. "Yes. They have made their choice."
Seraphine stepped closer, her silver hair shimmering like a halo in the soft light. "And they do not realize the consequences."
"No, they never do," Kaelen replied, his voice laced with quiet amusement. "They think they control the game, but they are pawns. The power they covet comes at a cost that they cannot yet comprehend."
Seraphine crossed the room and stood beside him, her gaze following his toward the distant horizon. "What happens now?"
Kaelen's eyes narrowed, his thoughts turning inward as the pieces of his plan clicked into place. "Now, we watch. They will take the blood and drink from the cup of godhood, but in doing so, they will become something else—something far more dangerous, something that cannot be controlled."
"Are you sure they will take the vial?" she asked, her voice tinged with doubt. "They know the cost. They know it will change them."
"Of course they know," Kaelen said, turning to face her, his expression as cold as the stone walls that surrounded them. "But ambition blinds them. They will sacrifice everything for power. It's in their nature."
Seraphine shook her head slightly, a faint, almost sad smile playing at her lips. "And what about you, Kaelen? What are you willing to sacrifice? You have orchestrated this entire game, but even you cannot escape the consequences of the path you've chosen."
Kaelen's gaze hardened. "I've made my peace with the price. I am not like them. I do not crave immortality, nor do I seek to control the magic of the world. I seek something far greater: the freedom to reshape this world in my own image."
Seraphine remained silent for a moment, then nodded. "And if they resist? If they refuse to take the vial?"
Kaelen's lips curled into a dark smile. "They won't. The fear I've planted in their hearts will drive them to it. And when they drink, they will find themselves bound to the magic in ways they never imagined. Power will flow through them, but it will be like a sickness. It will change them, warp them, and in the end, they will serve me—whether they want to or not."
---
Hours passed, the sun climbing higher in the sky, before word finally came from the Mage Lords. It was not in person, not yet. Instead, it came in the form of a single raven, a black-winged messenger that landed on Kaelen's balcony with a note clutched tightly in its beak.
He took the note, reading the elegant, but trembling script of Lord Clyden. It was a formal invitation to meet with the council—to discuss the future of Cadris and, most importantly, the "gift" Kaelen had presented them. They had accepted. And yet, the tension in the words could not be ignored—the hesitation, the fear masked beneath their pride.
Kaelen's smile widened. "They are coming to me."
Seraphine glanced over his shoulder at the note, her expression unreadable. "And when they do, will they truly understand what they have agreed to?"
"They will," Kaelen replied, his voice soft, almost regretful. "But by then, it will be too late."
---
The following evening, the Mage Lords arrived, stepping into the darkened hall with all the regal arrogance they had once held in abundance. But now, there was something different about them—something that Kaelen could feel, a subtle shift in the very air around them. Their faces were more drawn, their eyes flickering with a strange unease. The magic they had long relied on seemed to hum with a foreign energy, as if it were not fully their own.
Clyden led the way, his usual confident stride now hesitant, unsure. Behind him, Lady Seraphine and Lord Beran followed, their expressions tight, strained, as if they were bearing the weight of an unbearable burden.
"I see you've come," Kaelen said from the shadows, his voice cutting through the stillness like a blade. "You've made your choice. And now you will reap what you have sown."
Clyden's gaze flicked toward Kaelen, but he didn't speak immediately. Instead, he pulled a small vial from his robes, the dark liquid within swirling with a strange, ominous glow. The vial Kaelen had given him. The price of their ambition.
Kaelen stepped forward, his eyes never leaving Clyden's as he reached out to take the vial. "The power you sought is now yours. But remember, it comes with a price."
The Mage Lords stood in silence, the weight of the moment pressing down on them. The power of the Heart of Aerys, the promise of godlike strength, all lay within the dark liquid before them. They had come this far, and there was no turning back.
Clyden hesitated, his fingers trembling as he uncorked the vial. "To our future," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. Then, with a final, decisive motion, he drank.
The transformation was instantaneous.
At first, nothing happened. The silence in the room stretched on, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. But then, their magic began to pulse, a sickening, violent surge that rattled the very foundations of the Mage Tower. Their bodies shook, their skin stretched, and their eyes—those once-glorious eyes—became pools of swirling darkness, no longer human, no longer in control.
Kaelen watched with a detached fascination as the Mage Lords crumpled to the ground, their minds and bodies slowly twisted by the power they had so desperately sought. They had no idea what they had unleashed. The magic, the ancient force that lay within the vial, was far more than they had bargained for. It was alive, a ravenous hunger that consumed them from the inside out.
They were no longer the rulers of Cadris. They were slaves to the magic they had foolishly believed they could control.
Kaelen stepped forward, his shadow falling over them as they writhed on the floor. "You wanted power," he whispered, his voice cold and full of disdain. "But power has a price. And now, you will learn what it truly costs."
---
As the Mage Lords struggled to maintain their grasp on their shattered humanity, Kaelen turned and walked away, his mind already turning to the next phase of his plan. He had set the pieces in motion, and now the world would fall in line with his vision.
The Mage Lords had been his first step. They would not be the last.
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