On the shore of the lake there was a big city surrounded by a wall. Sorras is the capital of the kingdom with the same name. The city has been crowded with people for the past few days. It all started when the king and the army returned with loot after a victorious campaign. Now large ships were constantly sailing in the harbor and lines of wagons were moving at the five gates. Under the walls of the city, the army set up a tent camp because the taverns and inns ran out of places.
An old man was looking at all this from a window in the royal palace. He is dressed in a simple but high-quality gray robe. Perhaps he would have been mistaken for a monk if he was seen on the street. Few knew him as a royal mage even fewer knew his real identity as one of the three ancestors of the royal family. Behind him, a middle-aged man was sitting at a table. This man was the current king. He was reading a letter that had just been delivered. The more he read, the darker his face became.
Dear King, your faithful servant has fulfilled your order to search for Baron Davin and his men. To great sorrow, I am forced to report their deaths. Their bodies were found in the woods on an abandoned road seven hours away from the Dragon Manor. I ordered the bodies to be collected and sent to the Dragon Manor. After examining the place of death, there is no doubt that they fell into a prepared ambush. Most people died from crossbow bolts. The way forward was blocked by chains.
There are also traces of a group of people retreating deep into the forest. I led the men on the trail, and a few hours later we came across a camp. After a decisive attack, the enemy was defeated, 57 people were killed and 15 captured, among them 9 wounded. After interrogation and inspection of the camp, it can be concluded that these are Krumer remnants. It seems the only one who knew something worthwhile was Lord Hawk, but unfortunately he died. The others don't know anything. The prisoners will be taken to the capital's dungeon no later than 7 days.
Royal Ranger Varick
After reading the letter, the king got up and went to ancestor.
"Ancestor." the man called the old man softly, handing him a letter.
While the ancestor was reading the letter, his face did not change, but then the letter was covered with fire and it disappeared.
"Bad." The ancestor said in a calm voice. "Call Rose here."
"Aleron, bring my daughter here." the man said loudly.
"Right away, Your Majesty." a voice answered from behind the door.
"Ancestor what -" the man fell silent when he saw that the ancestor was ignoring him. They stood in this silence for ten minutes.
The door opened and an 18-year-old girl in a white dress with shoulder-length black hair entered the room.
"Ancestor, Father did you call me?" the girl said closing the door behind her.
"Rose, have you been with Elizara? How is he?" father asked.
"Yes, he's still unconscious" Rose answered with sadness in her voice.
"Rose I -" the father started to speak, but his ancestor interrupted him.
"Euron is killed."
After these words, Rose trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she exhaled and opened her eyes. "Who did it?" her voice was unusually calm.
"Krumer soldiers." the ancestor said. "That's all you can go."
At first, Rose had a blank look, but after a moment she left the room.
When Rose left. "Do you want to know why I did that?" the ancestor asked.
"Yes." The man knew that the ancestor loved Rose, perhaps she was the only one he loved in the family.
"I watched her reaction. Sometimes a mage can lose control because of emotions, but she did a good job." a faint smile appeared on the ancestor's face.
In the void, the essence changed, taking different forms, sometimes almost breaking into several parts, but some force connected them back.
"That's enough, let me try" a voice sounded.
"No." growled in response.
After that, the force connected the essence again.
"Look! Your way doesn't work." said the voice when the essence began to break. "You're destroying him. Before, he at least took the form of a human. If you continue, soon even I won't be able to save his soul."
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Well, I will trust you." growled in the void.
"Excellent." said the voice and crimson enegry covered the essence.
The baby's cry sounded in the room.
"How is he?" mother asked weakly.
"He's healthy." the woman in the blue robe answered. "Congratulations on the second son of Lady Amia and Baron Davin."
"Thank you for your help Lady Margaret" Davin said.
"No problem. By the way, have you come up with a name yet?" creating water to wash her hands Margaret asked.
"Yes. His name Elizar." Amia answered while holding the baby in her arms.
There were two boys of thirteen and five years old in the room.
"Please brother for the last time." the younger one spoke pushing the older one's arm.
"No Elizar. Mother forbade the use of magic without elders." reading the book , the older replied.
"Please." Elizar begged his brother.
"Well, one last time" the brother got up and went to the center of the room. He held out his arm, palm up. A fire appeared above the palm and slowly began to increase to the size of a big apple.
"Wow, someday I'll be able to do that too." Elizar spoke, looking at the fire with fascination.
Ten-year-old Elizar was sitting at his desk in his room with a book in front of him, but all his attention was focused on his palm.А fire the size of a seed appeared on the palm and disappeared after a couple of seconds. He wanted to surprise his father on his birthday, which will be in 2 months. That's why he didn't tell anyone that he could do magic.
*Knock Knock*
"Elizar are you here? Your father is calling you." a voice sounded outside the door.
"What for?" opening the door Elizar saw his brother.
"I do not know he asked me to bring you to the sanctuary." the brother answered him smiling.
"Thank you Euron." the father said when the two boys entered the sanctuary. "Elizar come here."
When Elizar approached his father, he saw a statue in the form of a dragon's head next to him. There would be a funnel on the statue's forehead and an empty cup in his mouth.
"Father why did you call?" Elizar asked looking at the statue.
"For the ceremony." there was a solemn note in his voice. He took out a dagger and handed it to Elizar. The dagger had a guard in the form of spread wings of a dragon and instead of a pommel the head of a dragon in the mouth of which there was a black diamond.
"Huh?" Elizar slowly pulled the dagger out of its sheath and looked at the blade, which was much darker than ordinary steel.
"Now cut your hand so that the blood falls into the funnel" said the father.
Euron frowned at these words but said nothing.
Elizar raised his hand over the funnel and pressed the blade to his palm. He felt deadly cold from this dagger.
"Do it!" his father's voice sounded and Elizar abruptly pulled the dagger down. The blood from his hand flowed into the funnel.So he stood for a minute, but for him it lasted hours.
"All right that's enough." father said taking out a cloth that smelled of medicinal herbs to bind up the wound.
"Now," taking the cup from the dragon's mouth "drink this." Now there was a strange black liquid in the cup.
Elizar took the cup and drank its contents in one gulp. After that, he felt his body become heavy and he lost something important. When he wanted to tell his father about it, his gaze stopped at the statue. Now there was no statue in front of him, but a huge black dragon.When the dragon looked at him, he fainted.
When Elizar's body was falling, his father picked him up.
"Father, what was that?" Euron asked.
"I'll explain to you later, first you need to take Elizar to the room." said the father carrying Elizar.
Twelve-year-old Elizar was sitting in the garden, sometimes poking the ground with a dagger. He reached out and tried to light a fire, but nothing happened. He lowered his arm. After that ceremony, Elizar couldn't use magic. When he asked his father what kind of ceremony it was, he replied that it was the ceremony of becoming an heir. Later he found out that Euron did not pass it. Elizar was not stupid, so he realized that the ceremony was to blame for everything. At first he felt angry, then sad. But time heals now, he did not take offense at his father or brother.
"Hi, are you Elizar? Euron has been telling me about you." an unfamiliar female voice sounded from behind.Turning around, he saw a beautiful black-haired girl.
"You?" Elizar asked her.
"My name is Rose. I'm your brother's fiancee." she said, smiling sweetly as she saw Elizar's face become shocked.
Several guards ran into the garden
"Princess, please don't run away without warning us."
"Princess!?" these words shocked Elizar even more.
Thirteen-year-old Elizar was lying among the stone fragments. More exactly, his body, because his soul was in the Void. His soul was looking at his reflection. When it spoke.
"Well, what have you decided?" the reflection asked.
"What are my options?" Elizar asked, but in the depths of himself he could not understand why he was so calm.
"First, I will sever your connection with the body and you will finally die." the reflection spoke by raising a hand with two fingers. "Second, I will return the soul back to the body and you will live."
Elizar was thinking. Previously, he would have definitely chosen life, but after the pain he had endured tonight, eternal rest didn't sound so bad. He was looking at his wounded body when the old man in the gray robe approached the body. The old man muttered something, then waved his hand, and Elizar's body was covered with water, and the wounds began to heal with incredible speed. Soon, the old man soared into the air, taking Elizar's body with him.
"Don't you want revenge? " seeing that Elizar still hadn't decided, the reflection spoke. "After all, are you the only one left in the family or are you afraid? Although maybe you really shouldn't come back because you're useless."
When Elizar heard this, a ripple passed through his soul and he stared angrily at the reflection.
Seeing this look, the reflection smiled.
"What? If you had defeated those three at the door, your mother and sister would be alive like many in the castle, but... you're useless."
"Shut up!" Elizar screamed and behind him appeared seven serpent-like streams of black energy that rushed at the reflection.
When the streams crashed into the reflection, they pierced through it, leaving ragged round holes.The reflection had an intrigued expression on its face. A crimson energy appeared on the edges of the holes and they began to slowly decrease.
"What was that?" Elizar asked, not really hoping that he would get an answer.
"This is mana, your mana." the reflection replied.
"If it's mana, will I be able to use magic if I return to the body?" Elizar asked hopefully, waiting for an answer, he looked at his palms, on which black energy appeared and disappeared at his will.
"Yes you can." said the reflection with a thoughtful expression.
"Bring me back" Elizar said confidently.
"Well, take my hand and I'll do it." said the reflection holding out his hand.
When Elizar took the reflection by the hand, it disintegrated into crimson energy and merged with Elizar. Then his vision darkened.
In the Void, Elizar's soul flew out towards his body.
"Bastard, why is your mark on his soul?" a growl sounded in the Void.
"It was my welcome gift to him. Goodbye, I hope we will not meet soon." a voice answered and the crimson energy flew into the distance.
"I will kill you!" from this growl , cracks began to appear in the Void.