Yo!

Over 100 chaps already! More than 100k words! Wew . . it ain't been easy, but it sure has been fun writing this story - I hope you're all enjoying it, thanks for reading so far - I've got quite a bit more to go before the end yet, so I hope you'll all stick around!

Just thought I'd write a quick note - this last arc has been called The Witching Road, and well . . it has very little to actually do with the witching road! I dun goofed! I never really planned to take so long - had a couple of other things in mind, but well, it is what it is - I'll have to change it in the future or something (I guess the next part will have to be called the Real Witching Road xD)

Anyways - here is today's chap - enjoy!

twice.

101 - The Witching Road

Magnus looked down the length of the short curved sword at Caj's trembling hand.

"Do it. Don't you want to know? Is that how deep your love is? One finger, one fact - that's what you want, right?"

Caj didn’t look away - his eyes fixed on Magnus - it seemed that he could not look away, he'd been transfixed, his hand - minus one finger, victim to his curse, hovered over the blade.

He hesitated - Caj, with tears flowing freely down his face - hesitation took ahold of his heart - Magus held the blade steady, stony faced and without a shred of compassion towards the young thief.

"I . . I . . . never . . I . ." Caj stuttered, entirely unable to form even the beginnings of a coherent sentence.

"Pitiful. Truly. Is this the depth of your love, Caj? Ha! Three days - you didn't even know her name! Is this what you've been crying over? Seen a girl once and fallen in love - what a load of shit!"

The tip Heart Sword pressed against Caj's neck.

Magnus sneered, saying mockingly "'I love her, I love her' - ain't that right, Caj? Prove it! Go on! I'll tell you everything you'd want to know - the only price I'm asking is a finger, only a little finger - is that too much? Is it too much to ask for, for your love? Ha!"

Still, Caj hesitated - his hand frozen in place, seemingly unable to move one way or the other - either removing his hand from the edge of the sword or pressing down one of his fingers.

"M . . mer . . . mercy! Don't kill me! I'm sorry! Lord! I'm sorry!"

Magnus looked at the trembling Caj on the other end of his sword - on his hand holding the Heart Sword his eyes were drawn to the gold ring - the Lund Family ring. Seeing it a single thought suddenly rising in his mind - Is this what I've come to? Is this the kind of person I am?

Caj . . he deserves this! He deserves death! But . . is this who I want to be? Would Pa Lund be happy seeing me here, now - holding a sword out and telling someone to cut their own fingers for information on the person they love?

What would Pa say . .

He didn't have to consider it too much - Pa Lund would say run the bastard through and be done!

But Pa Lund . . he ain't me . . and I ain't him.

Poor Caj. Pathetic Caj. A thief and a swindler - cursed and in love . . waiting here for me to appear, and when I do the bloody bastard doesn't even know my face.

Magnus held his gaze, held the blade steady for another few moments, then, shaking his head, drew it back, placing the Heart Sword back in its ragged sheath.

"Pfff. This is it, ain't it Caj? Caj the Quick, Caj the bloody, uh, fool! All talk, ain't you just?"

"Tha- tha- thank you lord! Tha- thank you for mercy!"

"Say it."

"Sa- say what, Lord?"

"Say that you don't love her - that Petra means nothing to you. Hells, you didn't even know her name until just now."

"Lord, I-"

"Say it. If love was in your heart then a finger wouldn't mean naught, would it?"

"I . . . I don't love her." Tears streamed down Caj's face, his hand shrunk back from the edge of the blade. "I don't really love her . . I was wrong . ."

Magnus shook his head, looking one last time at the youth prostate on the sands at his feet. Before he turned to leave something caught his notice - a little flash of light above Caj - the light, black and red, barely visible, seemed like a thin worm wriggling about in the air.

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With a single thought he made it fly through the air, right into his hands and held it up in the light. A tiny strand of red and black light . . like vigour, but stained with dark splotches. Magnus felt it was familiar - like a part of himself that had been lost. This is? The curse? The loathing - as Caj had put it - the hatred that had attached itself to Caj?

The thin red and black strand writhed within his palm, like a tiny living creature - he could sense the deep emotions held within it. This was the core of the curse Caj had been suffering since he met him last - was this something I have made? Something that came from me? All my resentment, all my hatred, all those I have grudges against - have they got my worms of hatred within them too?

Magnus turned his attention back to Caj - has he suffered enough? Has my grudge against him really been resolved in any way?

The little worm swelled in size, doubling in mass and resembling a maggot, its red and black body hideous and semi-translucent.

No. My heart still holds resentment - I can’t escape that . . and Caj . . Caj should not be let off so lightly.

With a flick of his finger Magnus sent the worm back into Caj, seeing it settle deep within his chest near his heart. He can hold onto my hatred for now . .

“You don't love her, do you? You don't love anyone except for yourself. Forget it, fuck it - you don't know me, you don't recognize me. You've never seen me, right? Good. Goodbye Caj."

Magnus left the banks of the Stor, quickly climbing the sandy beach to the dirt path beyond, going south.

Caj remained alone on the beach, his hand still shaking uncontrollably - a pained expression on his face - hopeless - like his heart had been truly crushed.

"Boss!" Caj got to his feet, climbing the sandy banks and chasing after Magnus. "Boss, wait! I do know you! Wait! Dammit, wait up! I'm sorry, wait for me!"

***

Above Magnus and Caj, far above the river Stor floated an innocuous silver outlined cloud - invisible amongst the many other clouds, indistinguishable except for a silver tinge.

On the cloud reclined a single figure - a man dressed from head to toe in a form fitting silver suit, only his face and his hands uncovered.

Unlike Orpheus the Poet - this silver suited man had a healthy complexion, his face tanned, a firm bristled jaw, two piercing blue eyes tinged with gold - on his silver suit was a five pointed silver star, engraved in its center a square with a circle within it.

He peered down at the world through a lens embedded in his cloud, seeing and hearing all the events at the shore of the Stor clear as if he'd been standing next to Magnus and Caj himself.

Hearing the exchange of words and seeing Magnus withdraw his sword a sneer arose on the man's face.

"Weak! This is the new Ascended? A Celestial Ascended - pah! Orpheus made me waste my bloody time, he won't last a second before the Lord of Embers! Is this how he pays back those who've wronged him? He needs to be tested . . this isn't enough, not nearly enough for me to come raise my hand against them . . I need to see his true mettle . . "

With a snarl he turned the lens to focus on another part of the land, on a road with a group of several dozen men and women heading south west, away from Juteheim and towards the Iron Coast.

"Bloody Orpheus . . he knows I hate to get involved with the politics, but when it's got to do with the Lord of Embers and the King of the Woods . . . not my choice, right? El will just . . ah fuck it, she'll just have to accept it, one way or another . ."

His lens focused in on one amongst the group, a middle aged man wearing light banded armour and carrying a long spear.

"A test . . I'll have to get the proper measure of this celestial - even if it is bloody written in the stars, that doesn't mean I have to accept it, hear me, Poet?"

***