The scimitar had been hoisted to Willem's chest level by both hands, but his arms were infused with magical energy which meant Willem would show no signs of difficulty for at least a few days.
Willem had his legs crossed, one underneath the other; the natural position for his previous meditations. Since this was his preferred state, his focus on the connection to the 'gem of souls' was increased.
Willem was floating in a world of black but felt no pain or fear, just a gentle love.
"Your Mother's name was Veronica Bloodwell. The official title bestowed by her Father, the King of Magical Beings was "Princess of the Bloodwell dynasty and Warden of the Northern Gate." Atlas had both a sweet but sad tone in his voice as he spoke. "I was a human who had been abandoned by my slave mother and taken in by a woman of the Thousand Eyes Clan."
Willem reacted slightly when he heard about the Thousand Eyes Clan, whom he had previously heard about from his Mentor, Archus.
"By the way you reacted just now it looks like you have at least heard about the Thousand Eyes Clan... It was both my home and my school for the better part of my life, and it also served as a place of worship for those in my clan who could divine the future." Atlas continued to talk, as roots from the oak tree began to create a circle around Willem. "I came across your Mother for the first time when I was sent to the Royal Castle as a worker for the Clan. I was carrying bags from the back of a stagecoach when I saw her pruning some flowers in the garden. It was love at first sight for me, though your Mother had readily admitted that it was not the same for her. Haha..."
The voice trailed off, and the pause had been long enough that Willem feared the connection had broken. A large sigh could be heard from far away after some time had passed.
"It was not until much later on that I discovered that she was the Princess of the Royal Castle, and someone I had no hope of getting near without special circumstances. Luckily she was the youngest of three daughters, and she was not as heavily watched as the others. She also had quite a habit of sneaking out into town to play with the other kids. That was how we officially met for the first time." There was a tinge of longing in Atlas' voice.
"When did things change?" Willem did not want to rush the conversation, especially since he could learn about his real Mother and Father, but he had so many questions to ask.
"Things began to change when your Mother turned fourteen. The presence of guards became heavier, she could no longer sneak out to play and began to act out against everyone. She was betrothed to a thirty year old nobleman from another influential clan." The longing voice turned to bitterness. "The nobleman would come every full moon to see her, until she would officially become his wife when she turned eighteen. On her eighteenth birthday, at the party to celebrate her wedding, she pretended to be docile to lull her new husband into a false security. When the nobleman went to consummate the marriage she castrated him with the knife used to cut the traditional meal." The voice began to chuckle gently.
"She castrated him? Wow..." Willem held his breath as the story continued.
"Embarrassed, the nobleman annulled the wedding without reason, which caused massive backlash from his family and the community. However the embarrassment of being tricked by a woman was heavier than the embarrassment of the annulment. Gossip spread like wildfire, that the Princess was a monster who could not be married off despite her looks. Obviously it could not be farther from the truth, but it helped keep suitors away, so she did nothing to stop the slander against her."
The oak roots slowly wrapped around Willem, like a cocoon with small openings. Despite the encroaching roots, Willem felt no malice from the oak tree.
"Having given up, the King sent her to the North Gate that protected the Royal Castle and surrounding town, making her the Warden and leader of the guards. She no longer had to stay inside the Royal Castle, and would often be gone for months at a time. As for me, I was still a porter for the Thousand Eyes Clan and would only seen her once every few months. By this time we had already begun seeing each other romantically, and it was only a matter of time before people began to guess where we both had been disappearing to. At the same time that you were conceived, the Grandmother of the Clan was granted a vision from the Gods about you, and immediately found me. She told me about the prophecy and about how important you were, but your Mother had not even showed signs of being pregnant, so I thought it was not true. I held the secret of the prophecy close to my heart but did nothing to inform your Mother until she began to show clear signs of distress." Atlas heaved a massive sigh and the oak roots pushed closer and closer to Willem.
"Everything happened so fast after that... Knowing that they would never accept the pregnancy, we decided to run. By the time we gathered everything we would need to hide ourselves for a while, Grandmother had found us and showed us the way to get outside the city. Before we left, Veronica snuck into the treasury and stole the Obsidian Gem. We followed Grandmother, unsure if she was on our side or working for the King she had followed since long ago. She lead us to a place called the Isle of Endless Whispers, a small island covered in active volcanoes that was also hidden by a dense smoke and ash fog. It was known for being uninhabitable, but Grandmother had already made many trips by herself, carving the rocks and creating a small habitable zone for us. When I asked her why she brought us here she would just keep saying 'all because of the visions'."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
An oak root slowly crept up Willem's back before stopping at the Brain Stem, poised to strike.
"We had nine months together, plenty of time to learn all we could about each other. The magic of the Bloodwell clan that turned anger into pure magical energy, the Thousand Eyes Clan and it's ability to see past, present, and future. The ability to create or destroy dreams with enough proficiency. As it turns out, I was born to a Thousand Eyes Clan member who was turned into a slave for stealing, which means there is a chance you could get the gift as well. However since I was born without any magical ability, I was labelled a human failure and abandoned. In the eyes of Magical Beings, humans are disposable workers, barely worth the cost of feeding... Willem." The voice stopped just as Willem was about to receive some of the answers to his questions.
"Yes, Father?" Willem tried not to sound exasperated as he felt the oak root hovering around the back of his neck.
"You are being called to the outside world once more, so I will make this quick. I will inject my memories directly into your mind. This will be painful."
The oak root pierced Willem's neck, and instead of putting up any resistance, Willem let it happen.
A vast amount of memories flowed into Willem's mind, but the magical energy previously flowing through Willem's brain offset the pain he should have felt.
The memories of Atlas filled his mind, but there was too much content and detail to sift through, if he had a week it would be enough time to get through everything.
The oak root detached itself from Willem's neck and left a small open wound.
"Father, I must leave you for now. I will return when I have the time." Willem stood up, the cocoon moving to adjust to Willem's form.
"I love you son." Atlas bid his farewell as Willem's form disappeared and the mental connection was severed.
Willem placed the scimitar in it's sheath and placed it by his side, tightly against his thigh.
In the forest outside the Bastion of Hope, the large oak tree seemed to take on a faint golden glow.
In Paradiso Rosso.
The dark elves had been working hard with the human soldiers and hunters to establish a defensive zone within the poisonous fog and surroundings. Since the fog had yet to dissipate, Willem had come up with a countermeasure that allowed for someone to safely travel in it for no more than three hours. Not only had Willem created the potion, he also granted anyone with alchemical skill the formula and necessary ingredients. For the first time in their lives, the dark elves witnessed the real moon that they worshiped.
In packs of six, the groups established safe zones and temporary relief stations in order to push further into the surrounding forests. They decided to only set up traps and place the assassins in the southern forest as that was the most likely area they were to encounter Magical Beings. The assassins were under strict orders not to attack the Magical Beings, just relay that they had appeared, and in what quantity.
That time had finally come.
The first line of assassins sent out a signal only detectable by other Dark Elves, a magical scent that could be discovered within a certain distance. The stronger the smell, the more Magical Beings had appeared. The smell that the back line caught was pungent and overwhelming to their sensitive noses, which could only mean one thing. The main army, or something similar in size, was heading toward Paradiso Rosso.
The assassins in the back line immediately sprinted back into the thick fog and into the mouth of the Stinging Blood Tortoise. As they all converged, lightly sweating, Ashkatar appeared before them.
"Something has happened?" Ashkatar understood their jobs and what they had been sent out to do.
"A large army approaches. They cannot pass through the fog, but it looks like they intend to possibly meet with you if you get to the edge. There would be no other reason for them to approach this area." The assassin crossed his left hand over his chest in salute while speaking.
"Perhaps this is something we should discuss with Master Grandia." Ashkatar seemed to be pondering over something as he motioned for the assassins to follow him.
Ashkatar and the four assassins moved through the streets as nimbly as possible, avoiding the playing children and workers in the road. Most of the denizens moved out of the way when they saw the five moving quickly.
As Ashkatar and the four assassins reached the main entrance to the castle, Ashkatar rose his hands outward and declared his intent. "Maris, ring the bell. Garcif, summon Master Grandia."
A young dark elf girl nodded her head seriously and climbed the stairs she had previously been sitting on.
After a few seconds, the ringing of a large copper bell could be heard all throughout Paradiso Rosso.
The ringing of the bell meant one thing, enemies have appeared.
A slightly older dark elf boy ran toward the bedchambers of Master Grandia. He had recently been appointed as the Grand Mage's personal assistant since there were many things Willem would request.
After breathing deeply a few times, Garcif gently knocked three times on the door.
One knock for an audience, two knocks for a request, three knocks for an emergency.
After an eerily long time waiting, the door opened and the Grand Mage appeared.
"Three knocks, something has happened?" The Grand Mage ruffled the hair of the dark elf boy.
"I believe so, Master Grandia. Ashkatar told Maris to ring the bell." The boy answered while wrinkling his nose.
"If I am not mistaken, it should be time for the mounted infantry of Magical Beings to appear at our border, since the advanced unit was destroyed. What were they called again?" Willem placed a finger on his chin, waiting for Garcif to answer.
"Dragoons, Master." Garcif replied.