Timeskip (One Week) - Reader PoV
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An entire week had passed since the young lord made his way to the capital, which may not seem like a whole lot of time, but the amount of events that had managed to crop up as a result of that supposedly innocent city-venture would cause the mind to think otherwise. First and foremost, the death of a highly influential political leader, as the vampire baroness was, caused the city-state of Gelidgate to enter a state not too dissimilar from utter chaos. Ravenous mobs of angry peasants rushed to the streets in protest, demanding proof of the fact that she was an undead, which, when they received said proof in the form of accursed, vampiric ashes, did nothing to stifle the crowds anger.
Still, the unwashed hordes were promptly silenced once the Church got involved, for not even the most drunken, rebellious peasant wants to get on the bad side of an Inquisitor, or several. The fact that the entire manor was burned down to the ground, leaving nothing but a charred ruin behind, only served to further the fear the people had towards the church. Many of the manor's servants had families, many of whom were offered free burial services for their dead, though they would never see them again, not even their bodies, as all were taken by the church's soldiers.
Furthermore, the prediction of the young knight Malwrich proved to be true, as even the zealous warriors of the light had the proper mind to not set an entire noble treasury alight in flames. At first, there was some dispute between the City Council and the Church over where the gold would go, but after a few days of intense discourse, it was agreed by both parties that the gold is better placed in the hands of the citizens, rather than thrown into another noble's hoard, whilst the title itself and any further taxes taken under its authority, was moved back to its original holders; the Lumenharts.
Geoffrey took the news with quite a bit of glee, as he immediately used the chance to improve the prestige of his house by handing the title to his estranged nephew; Leon, though he was starkly offended by the boy once he rejected the steward the count sent along with the missive, intended to look after the proper taxation of the city. With as much politeness as he could manage, Leon sent the steward away, warning him that he would be instantly executed should he show himself in the dutchy again.
As this was the order of a fellow noble, to disrespect it would ultimately diminish the prestige Geoffrey was planning to gain by securing the title in Lumenhart hands, which meant that the count was outplayed by his own nephew. For the time being, at the very least, as no-one truly knows why the count even desired access to the funds in question in the first place. He does have his own lands to tax, after all. Some, like the esteemed Inquisitor Harkon, simply assumed it was nothing more or less than typical noble greed, but the counts sister, Sophia, did not seem to agree and firmly believed that there has to be more to it than that.
Perhaps, they're both right to some extent.
Nevertheless, Leon's slaying of the vampire baroness brought him even further into the spotlight of attention within his own home, but remarkably so, not in a negative way. It would seem that ending a vampire such as that bought him at least some respect from his own family's elite knights, though most still believed him to be an evil daemon's host in disguise.
Much to the young lord's joy and immediate following dismay, a day or two after his return home, he received news that he did not need to pay for the orcish slave he bought as the slave master, Ygor Hastings, was subsequently trampled alive and beheaded by a certain amazonian centaur after she suddenly shrunk in size, allowing her to escape her bindings and proceed to slaughter just about everyone around before inevitably fleeing the confines of the slave market and therefore the city with a small number of fellow centaur which she freed along the way.
Intending to distance himself from all this rising drama and trouble, the young lord had decidedly spent his week, not in his usual confines of the mansion library, but outside; training for combat, with both Captain Malwrich and the Inquisitor acting as his instructors by morning, and the elderly orc Histril, as his teacher at night.
Apparently, Leon sought to learn not only the way the orcs fight, but also of their culture and even some words in their language, citing that though a proper understanding is unlikely, even the knowledge to form certain words or understanding of cultural implications within the language itself may aid tremendously in bringing the orcs over to his side.
Much to his pleasure, Leon was correct about the orcs having a simple, if honorable, martial-culture. There did indeed exist duels between orcs who sought the title of 'chieftain' within a select tribe, but only a shaman could orchestrate and approve of such a duel, as dictated by the elemental spirits, whom the orcs, along with their patron God-King and God Of War, Saev The Invincible, serve.
It wasn't long for the young lord to find a rather curious and exploitable 'hole' within the orcs law's. The shamans were the ones to approve duels, but nobody said that the shaman itself could not be a participant. According to Histril, this was because shamans rarely, if ever, fought for control over their clans, as their role of advisors and stewards often awarded them with equal or sometimes, even greater authority than those of the chieftains, though the latter still held the final say in matters of battle and war.
In short; Leon decided that the path to his success lied in him becoming a shaman, which, of course, entailed signing a kindred pact with an elemental spirit, which in turn had to be summoned using magic.
This is what brings us to our current predicament.
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Regimental grounds of the Lumenhart Mansion - Leon's PoV
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"Well? Are you going to do this or not, boy?! It is both suspicious and extremely unlike you to be this... indecisive." Harkon barked in an irritated tone behind my back as I continued staring at a runic circle drawn in the book he offered me as an aide to summoning an elemental spirit.
I continued to blankly stare at the pages in disbelief for a few more moments. "Sorry... I just need to draw this in the ground, right?" Muttering out, I shook myself out of my stupor and began to work the soil beneath my feet somewhat awkwardly, despite being intricately familiar with the rune in question.
For you see, this exact runic symbol was what was etched beneath the pool of my own blood and vomit on the day I was transferred into this world; the same day I died, possibly even twice. "Yes! Draw the rune as correctly as you can, then mark its outlines with your mana as we practiced with the other runework. After that, just sit in the middle, gather what remains of your magic and imagine your kindred spirit."
Doing as I was told, in spite of my uncharacteristic anxiousness, I silently worked on the magical circle, drawing it almost from heart and muscle memory alone. Harkon seemed to have noticed this, as the inquisitor merely rose an eyebrow once I finished my work. "Huh. This is both interesting and impressive, your highness. Either you're very talented in runework, which I know you're not due to the last few days practice..." He trailed off, his tone becoming suspicious and grim. "... or you've done this before without anyone else knowing."
Not seeing a reason to lie to the man, I instantly admitted what he already suspected. "The latter, inquisitor. I've drawn this exact circle a number of times but..." I shrugged. "Its never really worked for me before."
Harkon seemed satisfied with my answer. "As well it shouldn't! You did not posses magic at all until the last two weeks, your highness. A fact that is still equally as boggling as it is suspicious as it was the day it was discovered."
I merely shrugged. "Well, now that I do, lets hope it works."
Without further ado or waiting for Harkon to reply to my little quip, I sat down in the middle of the magical circle I drew into the ground with a stick and began to infuse my mana all around it. By the time I was done, I had very little magic actually left to gather into my palms and Harkon's already grim expression turned even more grim as the magical circle beneath me began to glow an eerie, hot crimson.
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"I don't think I shall ever get used to that dangerous coloration of yours..." Harkon muttered out with a sigh as I rolled my eyes. "Yes, yes, whatever. Now be quiet, please. I need silence to properly meditate, Lord Inquisitor."
Much to my surprise, the man did not offer even the slightest grumble at my quip and became deathly quiet to the point that if I did not have my hemomancy active, I would not have known that he was even still there. Either way, I closed my eyes and focused deeply within myself, imagining my so-called 'kindred spirit', hoping to the creator that some elemental creature answers this time.
... and that it is of sufficient quality, I'll admit. I didn't wish to end up summoning some waste of existence. Unless it was a cute one, then at least I'd have a new pet to console myself for my failure.
Failure...
Why must I be the failure?
Why is it always me that is in the wrong?...
Why can't the world be the one in the wro-
I shook my head and opened my eyes, blinking in stupefaction and looking around in confusion. "What? Is it already over? Did you manage to do it?" Harkon asked me, equally confused whilst wiping some errant sweat from his own brow. "N.. no? I- what just happened?"
"Is something the matter, your highness?" I looked around in further confusion.
Those thoughts just now, they weren't mine! Were they Leon's, then?
"Good lord, its so hot out here today..." I muttered out before I could stop myself, using my shirt to ventilate my body for a few moments before returning to my meditation.
Harkon seemed to walk around for a bit, pacing feverishly for whatever reason before settling himself under some shade. "Ah, much better. Hmm, that sky... it seems like its going to be a storm out tonight..."
After a few moments of pondering silence, Harkon's eyes shot open, as if coming to a sudden revelation. "Wait... A storm?! THIS IS JUST LIKE WHE-"
*BOOOM*
*CRASH*
*CRACKLE*
A sudden blast of lightning tore across the sky as rain began to pour down as if someone up in the heavens opened up an oceanic reservoir, the skies filled with blackened clouds and I could hear people panicking from somewhere behind me. Within an instant, alien magic began to gather and form around me and I found out that I could neither move nor open my eyes as it mixed with my own.
Completely and utterly paralyzed as I was, I could not help but fall into a sudden grip of fear, thinking that this was all one huge mistake.
I breathed in harshly, finding that the very air was dry and hoarse, hot beyond hot, even more-so than the summers I remember from Earth. It was getting hard to breathe, hard to think, hard to...
*plop*
I sensed Harkon's body falling to the ground, though the man managed to get himself back on his knees, only to fall down again and begin to crawl towards me, sweat falling off of him like a torrential downpour. "Y-..y-y-your h-highness... s-s-stoop..." His usually healthy, albeit grim tone was replaced by an utterly uncharacteristic voice of suffering and abject horror.
I hated hearing that and so I refocused myself, trying to tame the rampant elemental magic forming in my palms, but to no avail.
... but why should I control this power?...
It can only serve to rend the world...
... yes, rend the world. Rend it until it is orderly...
Suddenly and without warning, the wild magics in my palms exploded outwards, containing a small area around Harkon and myself, seemingly shifting us along with the ground somewhere that was not my manor. Thankfully, after the ordeal was done, I managed to re-open my eyes and instantly went to Harkon's side, helping the elderly man to collect himself and stand up.
"Inquisitor! What just happened?! Where are we?!" I looked around in a panic, noticing that we seemed to have been transported into what looked to be the depths of the earth. A small outcropping of rock amid a sea of molten lava, which surged around us while we stood on uncertain feet on our small 'island'.
"I-I don't know, boy! Whatever you summoned must be what brought us here... and here is..." Harkon swallowed down what little liquids he still had in his body. "... the sphere of flame..."
Sphere of flame? I'm going to guess that's some sort of elemental plane, of fire, in this case.
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I'VE HEARD YOUR CALL...
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"ARGH!" I couldn't help but slam my hand to my forehead in pain as a voice, so deep that it was indescribable, tore itself against my eardrums, brining me down to my knees.
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I ANSWER YOUR SUMMONING, CHILD.
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A second terrible blow as I fell face first from the sheer torment, blood starting to flow down my ears and from my eyes.
"By the gods..." Harkon's terrified and yet, somehow reverent voice echoed from above as the man stood up, only to instantly kneel before... whatever was in front of us.
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FROM BLOOD, I RISE, WITH HEART OF FIRE.
TO KINDRED MEET, AND TO LIFE, SET ALIGHT.
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"AR-URGH!" Another dose of pain struck my entire body as I found myself holding myself tightly from the sheer pain, never having experienced anything even remotely like this, not even back on earth. "It- it feels as if I'm BURNING FROM THE INSIDE!" Scream after scream left me as I noticed that my skin seemed to take upon an ashen-grey coloration, before returning to its usual pale white.
Then suddenly, I could finally breathe more easily again and rose to my feet, and in front of me, no, in front of EVERYTHING, stood a massive... worm! Made of pure black rock and flowing magma. Wait... magma?
I shook my head as the worm continued to observe me with its glowing, crimson eyes, the coloration of which was exactly the same as that of my own mana. "From blood, you rise..." I looked at the sea of lava the great beast rose from and realized that there were cracks in its massive, obsidian scales, cracks which bled the very same magma it was swimming in. All of this was its blood!
A memory flashed before Leon's eyes, as he found himself dying, and then subsequently waking in a pool of his own blood, once more.
"Ha.. hahaha..." I let out a laugh. "A pool of its own blood, just like..."
I looked up, intending to gaze directly into the worms eyes. "... me."
The beast seemed to laugh and nod at my response.
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AS SPOKEN, TO KINDRED MEET, I HAVE RISEN.
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It seemed to briefly smile, showing off its massive teeth, which seemed to be made of pure, molten metal.
And this time, its words did not hurt me.
I could not help but share in its apparent joy. "Your kindred, Leon Lumenhart, greets you, great worm! May I have the pleasure of knowing your name."
"... for when the creator found the world, it was wrought of disorder, of foul air, vile waters and arrogant earth, and so the creator made the primordial flame, which then, he further refined into three to order the world..." Harkon's mutterings broke me out of my joy as I turned my attention to the still-kneeling man, intently listening to him as he continued.
"The first, to incinerate the vile air and turn it clean." He swallowed down and rose from his kneeling position, a tone of sheer reverence echoing from him as I continued to listen. "The second, to melt away the befouled waters and forge the cradle of life..."
The Inquisitor's expression turned zealous and as joyous as mine had been a moment prior as he finished his sudden sermon. "And the third, the Great Magma Lindwyrm, MALMUND!; to rend the arrogant earth to order!"
With that final exclamation, he knelt again. "Oh, to be granted the right to bear witness to one of the Creators own children, I have been truly blessed this day!"
The worm seemed to smile again, then turn back towards me.
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SPOKEN TRUTH, HEARDST THOU MAY HAVE.
TRUTH SHOWN, MALMUND STANDS BEFORE THEE.
I, BID-THEE-WELCOME, KINDRED-MYNE, LEON LUMENHART.
ALAS, TIME GROWS SHORT.
LEARN WELL, YOUNG ONE.
POWER GATHER, YOU MUST MORE!
TIME WILL COME, WHEN SPEAK WE SHALL, ANEW.
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Back at the mansion...
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A sphere of magical energies surrounded us for a brief moment as we were teleported back to the real world, with the rain having been stopped and the lightning ceased. Also, the heated air returned to normal, making it breathable again. "You.. you're the kindred of Malmund himself!"
Harkon's exclamation caught my attention again as the inquisitor promptly slapped his own mouth. "T-this, this must remain secret, O-OH but it explains SO MUCH! Oh, thank the gods for this gift of clarity!"
"It does?" I turned towards the man with a quirked eyebrow. "Yes! YES! It does, your highness. On the day we found you in that library, you attempted to summon an elemental, but you failed because you didn't have the magical power required. Nevertheless, the sheer presence of Lord Malmund's power increased the heat of the surrounding land, causing an atmospheric disturbance which, in turn, caused that terrible storm!"
He collected himself. "Yes, and your sudden gaining of magical power is likely a gift from the Third Seat himself... alas, this will have to stay a secret, I'm afraid."
"Let me guess; the truth is bound to get me in more trouble than if I was an actual demon?" I rolled my eyes as the inquisitor did an uncharacteristic shrug. "Something like that. I'll explain it to you, one day, probably."
A sigh escaped me as I rose and stabilized myself. "Well, if nothing else, lets just hope that I now qualify as a 'shaman' to the orcs."