Few years back. The same night, the starlight sword was stolen.
The sorcerer stood at the entrance, which was being protected by boundaries and invisible to the eyes of humans. He slowly took out the container that held the stash that had been given to him.
Putting it up to his face to have a clearer view, a smirk curled up on his face. In just a few minutes, he was going to achieve that which every other man, and sorcerer like him, had deemed an impossible mission.
Without wanting to waste any more time, so that the sleeping spell that had been cast on the inhabitants of El Dorado would not wear off.
So, quickly, he poured the stash into his hands, and drew a straight line with it right on the bare floor of the boundary. And in no time, a path was formed, creating a gateway for him to get into the unseen and unknown existing El Dorado clan, therefore breaking the seal.
*****
In the middle of the Dysphoria Forest rests the castle of the long forgotten sorcerer in the human race.
"Pius." He charged, his voice echoing right through the walls of the castle. He was standing right in front of the huge frame that held up his portrait in the living room. Despite the fact that he had ordered every window and curtains to be closed, exposing total darkness, he could still see the crack in the frame as he walked around the castle in admiration.
"Yes sire." Pius, the only human servant he had hired in the castle with him, suddenly appeared behind him, bowing in respect, and a greater fear of what could be the problem hovered around him.
Slowly, the old man who appeared to have lived for hundreds of years, yet looked rather to be in his forties, turned to look at him.
"Raise your head." His tone came out rather low, but with a grunt. And Pius did as he was instructed.
Their law demands that when your superior speaks, you look them in the eye to show your strength and bravery to be tested in times of war and death.
But it was unfortunate that that has always been Pius' problem - his inability to keep had direct eye contact with his boss, who was mischievous.
"What's this?" The old sorcerer pointed to the frame.
"I -" Pius took a quick pause accompanied by a deep breath before choosing to speak up. "I swear by the heavens, I didn't see that." He finally responded, keeping both his hands crossed in front of him.
"Hmm." The old sorcerer let out a low growl. Everywhere went as silent as a graveyard while he thought of the next response to give to him.
"In that case, you have to fix it yourself. After all, you were clumsy enough not to realize the damage right in time." He finally spoke, his tone ice-cold, and his expression cold and void.
"Sire?" Pius' voice came out rather in confusion.
The sorcerer didn't bother responding to him. He kept his stares at him instead.
"That - that would mean I have to pull out all the stones that were used to hold it down before I can fix it back."
"And?" Disgust rotted in his tone.
"I'm a human. My nails will peel off, and I'll bleed to death." Pius said, and swallowed hard because he knew the consequences of saying such words.
However, the sorcerer kept his eyes on him and didn't say anything.
"I can take it back to the workshop for repair," Pius foolishly continued.
"You might as well say your last wish before you leave here." He growled, and waved his hands off.
Immediately, Pius was pinned right against the wall of the frame. He groaned and screamed in agony. But all of it fell on deaf ears.
"I think I need to keep setting a reminder in this empty pit of what you call a head." He squeezed him tighter against the frame with his magic.
"I'm not your fellow mere man you can speak to however you wish, nor can you question. Remember your payment from your measly parents who were unable to pay up their debt. So, I'm free to do whatever I want with you. I am equally free to ask you to do every single damn thing I want. So, if you can't use your hands to peel off the stones from the frame, you might as well use your teeth." He said, and the moment he was done speaking, he released him from the spell he had cast.
Pius fell to the ground with a loud thud, alongside the frame that fell on his back, causing a fracture in his leg. But the sorcerer cared less about that.
"Clean up this mess. We're expecting someone here in probably a few minutes. I don't want here looking like a mess." He said, and began to walk back, his footsteps dating back to his room.
"Unfortunately, I'm here already. And I'm still in so much wonder as to why you have everywhere locked up." A sudden man who had just appeared right in their midst said.
Pius, on the other hand, took that as the time to pick himself up and leave. Situations like this were not new to him. Since he started living with the sorcerer, day in, day out, he has got to see creatures of various kinds, coming in to seek favor and help from the sorcerer.
Nevertheless, this particular creature didn't come to seek help or favor. He came because he had a score to settle with the sorcerer.
Even in the pain, Pius successfully limped out of their midst, not forgetting the frame.
"Ah! My good friend!" The sorcerer's countenance changed to a cheerful one the moment he saw him. He spread his arms wide open, ready for a hug as he walked back towards him.
"Quit the act. Give me the sword." The man with an eye patch said, unmoving and not returning the same gesture of the sorcerer.
The sorcerer quickly put his hands down and a sly smile curled up on his face.
"Why are you in so much hurry? We still have a few minutes to ourselves. Or do you have somewhere to be so bad?" The sorcerer began, taking his steps back to the large dining room. And the man didn't think twice about following him.
"What game do you think you're playing with me, Achilles?" The man questioned. When he got to a spot in the dining room, he stood, rooted firmly to the spot he was in. But his stares gave away his emotions. And he wasn't there for as much fun as the sorcerer must have thought.
"I'm playing no game. And, I think it's time I came out clean." The sorcerer said.
Immediately, he shut his eyes, and stretched his left hand sideways towards the pathway leading to his room. He began to quietly say some incantation. And to the amazement of the man, the Starlight Sword flew right into his hands.
"What did you do?!" The man yelled, his voice thundering and echoing all over the castle. The sorcerer instead burst into a loud menacing laughter.
"You see, I and the sword have begun to form a certain kind of bond that I wouldn't want to diminish. Neither would I want anything nor anyone to stand in our way." He said, while he admired the sword in his hands, and its elegance.
"How dare you?"
Before Achilles could put the sword in another position, the man disappeared to his side, and held him by his collar, throwing him against the wall, causing a crack in the wall, and the sword flying to the ground.
The moment he was down, the man saw that as his chance to grab the sword. However, luck wasn't on his side. The sorcerer, despite being in pain, made the same incantations, flying the sword into his hands.
He quickly stood up the moment he had the sword in his hands.
"You had just one simple job. And that was to steal it. Not for yourself, but for me." The man stared at him, anger coursing through his veins.
The sorcerer roared in laughter, fueling the fury the man felt.
"How foolish of you to trust a man with this much power."
"Well, I'm certain you wouldn't live long enough to make use of that sword or even enjoy the power. You don't even know how to unlock the gems surrounding it." The man said, seeking another means of causing him distraction so he could get the sword from him.
"Tch!" The sorcerer scoffed. "But I know that the gems are a source of power to the sword. The five of them signify the five clans in El Dorado. Vampires, Shape Shifters, Mermaids, Magicians, and your kind." He grinned.
"Tell me what you want, and I'll give it to you in exchange for the sword."
"I have what I want."
"Well, you won't have it forever." The man said, smiling mischievously, exposing his gap teeth.
While the sorcerer stood in confusion at the statement he had said, and his smile as he stood right in front of him, the man suddenly appeared behind him, and attempted to drag the sword from him.
Unfortunately, it was unknown to him that the sorcerer had cast a spell around the sword, gluing it to his hands. So, when he dragged it, two gems fell off the sword immediately, with the heavy force of nature, pushing him off to the wall.
"Ha! I should have remembered your sneaky abilities of duplication." The sorcerer turned back at him, and the man disappeared immediately, along with the two stones, before he could rush to get them back.
*****
In the cave of the late scavengers of the earth, a thousand miles away from the El Dorado clan, dwelled a small group of vampires.
The three men fell at the feet of their master, breathing heavily. Their master, who was dressed in an all-black shirt and trousers, paid no attention to them until he was done feeding on the human he held firmly while he sucked every ounce of blood she had left in her.
The moment he was done, one of his men brought out a napkin for him to use in wiping off the blood that hung around his mouth and dripped down to his chin.
"Bury her in the same place as the others." He said, and the young vampire nodded in acceptance.
He looked up at the men who had come to see him while he adjusted himself magnificently on the ancient wooden chair which was decorated with dried bones of humans and animals, that were sculpted into what they called accessories.
"I hope you bring good news. It's about time we had the sword in our hands." His voice came out rather low but stern.
"Actually, Master," the eldest of the men began to speak. "The piece of the sword no longer rests in the sorcerer's possession. And that means bad business for us."
"And you have the guts to come back here to tell me?" He roared at him. They fell back in fear immediately because they knew what he was capable of doing. They could be his next meal even if they were vampires like him.
"We–we ac - actually thought we'd just inform you." The eldest quivered, the words failing to come out freely.
"Do you understand how much I can do for our kind with that sword? Are you aware of the amount of power we can have with that sword in our possession?" He sneered.
"Master, we will get it. I promise. Once our spy is able to find the location of the sorcerer, we can find the sword."
"Hold on." He stopped them from speaking any further. "While we're waiting to find the sword, who has the missing gems from the sword?" The vampire asked.
"A human ghost."
At the response, a mischievous smile curled up on his face.
"Although our spy can't find out how he gets to meet with the sorcerer," the man added.
"Fools. How can you figure it out when he's just a ghost?" He questioned and walked away from their midst.
"Find me that human ghost, and bring me the gems."