Chapter 21 The Many Corruptions of Power.

Power corrupts, it stems from the suffering of many.

The arcane corrupts, it stems from the anguish of souls.

Only by staying true to your light, true to your justice.

Can you wield it and protect the world from evil.

Noxi, Guardian of Light.

“Milady.” Kolag is waiting for me when I exit Navaro’s quarters.

I smile at him. “Kolag? How can I help you?”

“I…” He goes quiet, his helmet hides his face, and I can’t tell what he’s thinking. This helmet is rather annoying. I’m usually good at reading people, but not being able to read his face makes it much harder. “You… you’re the one who needs help right now milady, is there any way I can help?” He says at the end, his voice echoing with distress.

Oh of course… he thinks Navaro is treating me badly… he’s here to uphold his justice and he doesn’t know how… I love that he cares… it’s really nice having people care about me… I miss that… I hate lying to them… but I don’t think I have much of a choice…

“I… is it ok if I escort you back to your quarters milady?” He continues.

“Yes, thank you.” It’s best if I accept it, I don’t want to drive my friends away… I just wish it wasn’t so awkward…

“This tower… this place… this magic… it’s all evil…” He mumbles under his echoing breath.

“Oh I agree about the tower. The people here are certainly evil in nature, at least most of them are. But magic? Why is magic evil? Magic is nothing more than a tool, or a weapon. It’s the men and women that wield it who decide whether to wield it for good or evil.”

“How many people had to die to acquire this magic?” His echoing words are seethed with pain. “I’m not blaming you for that slaughter, you are a victim. But if the price for magic is the deaths of so many, how can you claim it’s not evil?”

“That’s the tower’s and Master Rushmia’s doings, not magic by itself. If I was attacked by goblins in the wilds, I may have awakened the same powers. Master Rushmia made it clear, the risk we’re in awakens it. What’s evil is to slaughter thousands of men and women in order to awaken a hundred to magic, this is evil I agree. But again, magic by itself isn’t evil.”

“There’s a verse in the holy word of Noxi, something I’ve never really understood until I arrived at this place: 'Power corrupts, it stems from the suffering of many. The arcane corrupts, it stems from the anguish of souls.'” He quotes every word like the very syllables are holy before he continues. “It is evil, it corrupts good men and women. Look at this place! Look at all these mages reveling in the most sinful deeds. How do you believe they’ve begun their way? How do you think they became the mages you see today? Everyone has to begin somewhere. And if I am correct, they’ve all been wearing your black robes in the past. Walking these same halls, dealing with the same sinful mages above them.”

He has a point… maybe not all of them, I’m sure some are connected… but many of them have started the same way… Yet they aren’t all evil, Navaro is pretty nice… Is he? He’s been dragging me into his mess because he’s lonely… But he also helped me, and he is now teaching me. We’re all selfish creatures, there’s nothing wrong with that. Some of these mages aren’t as bad as others... Compared to Rushmia, she’s truly evil…

“How many mages have you met and talked to Kolag? One? Two? How can you decide they’re all evil?”

“They consent to this!” He points at me. “They consent to throw a group of innocent slaves to slaughter each other! They consent to women being forced into prostitution against their will! I’m sure many of them can stop it, but they don’t!”

I sigh. “You have a point there. I still disagree about magic itself. Magic is nothing more than a tool. It’s no different than a sword used to kill a man, or an axe used to chop wood. Is a sword evil Kolag?”

“Then enlighten me! Why are they all acting like that if not for the arcane?”

“The first part of your quote explains it rather well, power corrupts." I cross my hands and turn to face him. "A sword and armor will give a knight power over an unarmed peasant. And magic will give a mage power over the average person. What we choose to do with that power is up to us. But I assume that most mages are simply too afraid to overthrow the most powerful ones at the top, so they consent to this out of fear.”

“You are suggesting that they are victims too, bound by more powerful corrupt arcane. It doesn’t make them less evil, they can leave this sinful place!” His voice echoes with righteousness. I've never dealt with the followers of Noxi before, but I have heard they can be dead set in their ways. Not that it's always a bad thing, Noxi is the god of justice and protector of the weak, I can imagine he'd hate this place.

But the world isn't always so simple, nothing is so black and white, good and evil. People, are just people, afraid, follow what others do. Not everyone thinks in good or evil. “Maybe they can’t? Or maybe they are evil, and the good ones have already left? Regardless, it doesn’t make magic itself and everyone who uses it evil. Am I evil?”

“No!” He stops and gives me a long look. I can’t see under his helmet. “No, you aren’t. But you can become evil, everyone can be corrupted, and the arcane corrupts!”

“So what am I supposed to do? Stop doing magic? Magic is the only way I can survive here.” Get to your point.

“No, but watch out for corruption. Be careful not to lose your humanity to the evil in here, some of these mages no longer look human.”

"Not everyone here is human. There are gnomes and orcs, I'm not even fully human, remember?" I raise an eyebrow in his direction.

"I meant a normal person. I saw a mage with spider legs the other day, these corruptions are..."

“Hey princess.” Beydor blocks our way with a smug grin on his face. “I’ve heard you got yourself stuck with that pervert Navaro. Are you sure you won’t reconsider? If you agree to be with me, I’ll make sure all of your problems go away!”

That pervert Navaro, huh? You’re one to talk Beydor… “Not interested.”

“Oh believe me you are. Do you think Navaro is trouble? Once you…”

“The lady said she’s not interested!” Kolag steps forward, he towers over Beydor, bronze sword partially leaving its sheath.

“Who are you? Some upstart squire? Let me teach you what happens to stupid squires who…” Beydor doesn’t finish the sentence, Kolag’s fist knocks his teeth out.

The fat man in the black robes screams and attempts to retreat, but Kolag catches him and keeps pummeling the shorter man until Beydor loses his consciousness.

The nearby walls slide down, and a pair of three meters tall humanoids in a full plate armor step out. Their armor is as dark as the void, and there’s a green light coming out of their visor. One of them holds Kolag’s wrist, stopping his next punch. “Come with us.” The first says in a deep bass voice. “Comply and your punishment will not increase.” Says the one holding Kolag’s hand, his deep voice is slightly pitched compared to his friend. Despite their abnormal height, both of their voices sounds similar to humans, only way deeper.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“We’ll comply,” I say with a sigh. Great… more lashes… I am exempt from nineteen… I hope it’s not too many… Shit… it’s Rubday (Monday) I’m going to wait a whole week now!

“This has nothing to do with you apprentice M-820. Stay out of it!” Orders the one holding Kolag’s hand. “We are here for a law breach from squire M-819” The other one explains, some warmth that surprises me sneaks into his echoing voice.

“I’ll comply.” Kolag says and stands up. One of the guards picks up the unconscious Beydor, and they both disappear into the doorway in the wall. The wall slides back in from the ceiling, and they disappear like they were never there.

I let out a relieved sigh.

*

I don’t hear from Kolag after that. I’ve been looking, I’ve asked around. I’ve even asked Janara to ask her master when Kolag is coming back. The only answer I’ve got was that he’s ok.

After six long weeks of worrying, his familiar armored suit shows up at our weekly meeting. We all welcome him with loud cheers, and Lezere jumps out and hugs him in the same manner she hugged me.

*

{27} Lokamesh (May) the 15th, 5779, the year of the Akubali threads.

“I'll be gone for the next month!” Kolag declares when our cheers die out.

I raise my eyebrow, “why?”

He moves his hand behind his metallic nape. “This is… I'm in a bit of trouble. Nothing I can't handle. I'll just be gone for a month, you don't have to worry.”

“What kind of trouble?” I keep pressing the issue. “We didn’t hear from you for over a month, and now you’re going to be gone for another month?!”

His shoulder slumps. “That evil witch assigned me with a job to kill some bandits. She said I have to do it for free.”

“That evil witch is the only reason you’re still alive.” Janara crosses her hands on her chest, disdain in her eyes.

Purson snorts. “Why the hell would she want us to do it for free?”

Kolag shakes his head, he’s obviously feeling awkward about this. “No, there's no us. I'll go by myself, I'll just be gone for a…”

“Nonsense, we'll come with you.” I cut him off in the middle. “It's nothing we can't handle, and I don't like the idea of having you wandering alone out there.” He’s a friend, we’re a tight group, this is the right thing to do when my friend is in trouble…

Lezere nods and clack her teeth. “It’s boring here, I've been itching for a good fight! Something to bloody my fangs on. It's all training here, training training training, I'm tired of training!”

“I don't like this…” Janara comments in a quiet tone. “Why would my mother… why would master Rushmia do that?”

Did she just call Rushmia mother? I raise an eyebrow but decide to let it go.

“She said I had to do some charity work.” I can tell by Kolag's echoing voice that he’s smiling sheepishly behind his helmet.

Janara frowns, her hands still crossed. “You provoked her again didn't you?”

“I may have.”

“It doesn't matter!” I intervene. “We'll deal with this task for now. And Kolag, you'll promise us that you'll stop provoking that witch, deal?”

He nods solemnly. “I promise.”

“Good. I'm going to ask Nalfit if she could join us, we need her firepower.”

“We don't need that squirrel around chief.” Lezere never liked Nalfit, she can't stand her constant chatter.

“We do. If Janara is staying here, I'll be the only one who can cast spells. I'd much rather have another spell caster in our group. We'll leave tomorrow, go get ready!”

With that, we leave the table and go our way. I head toward master Navaro's room to tell him I'll be gone for the next month.

“Where are you going Marisha?” Janara trails behind me.

“I'm going to tell that fat pervert I'll be gone for the next month.” The words "fat pervert" feel unnatural on my tongue, but if I have to pretend I hate him, might as well call him the same way everyone does.

Janara jolts forward and attempts to block my way. “Don't go there Marisha, let me handle it instead. Just go and get ready for tomorrow.”

I shake my head and bypass her. “I have to do it myself.”

“Why?”

“Because I do.”

She follows me for a while and pulls my wrist when I am about to enter Navaro's quarters. “Marisha trust me! Don't go in there!”

I open the door anyway and gasp. The room looks like a dragon just passed through. I quickly notice the three figures flying around in the hall like three odd birds.

Master Navaro moves swiftly for someone of his figure. A small swarm of bronze weapons is flying around him in a thick formation like loyal soldiers.

*crack!!!*

The air crackles with a loud clap. A flash of light blinds me for a brief moment. When my vision clears, I notice lightning flashes down from a bronze spear toward the ground.

“Will you stop throwing lightning lances at the fucker?!” Rushmia calls out to the other woman. Rushmia stands on a wide rock that floats low to the ground. Her black hair is disheveled, half of it is still tied up and half loose on her shoulder. Her red robes have multiple tears in them. I quickly notice why when multiple bronze weapons fly in her direction.

In a blink, Rushmia’s body is enveloped in a thick transparent liquid. The bronze weapons sink into it and stop. I see the weapons disappear in the liquid, and after two breaths, only rust and dust are floating in her bubble.

“Nothing else is fast enough! He’ll run out of swords soon!” The other woman shouts. She’s wearing a tight outfit that compliments her busty figure, the golden outfit is covered by golden glitters.

She’s flying after Master Navaro, electricity crackles around her.

*crack!!!*

Another blinding flash and an ear-splitting thunder blinds and deafens me.

Janara is pulling my arm. “That’s why… come on, let's get out of here! I told master Rushmia about what he's doing to you, she said she'll take care of it. I thought she'll make sure he stopped calling you to his chambers. Instead, she told me she’s going to kill him today.”

They’re there to hurt him because of me?! No! Don’t panic! Don’t even show distress! Everything is recorded, we’re still out of the room…

“Move aside Bolsia! You’ve had your chance!” Rushmia shouts from below.

Navaro lands in front of Rushmia with a loud thud that creates cracks in the sapphire floor. Her acid envelops her again, this time, most of the room is flooded with the clear acid, drowning Navaro’s figure in it.

A transparent purple bubble blinks around the obese man, stopping the acid from touching him. He advances through the volume of acids in an attempt to reach Rushmia. She walks backward with her hands aimed at him. Her acid reaches the doorway in waves, making me jump back as it washes into the blue gem hallway.

I run with Janara as sizzling acid floods the corridor. I can’t see anything but flashes of lightnings, and the acid flowing into small holes in the gem floor, slowly draining out of the hallway.

After a long series of flashes. I can hear the female mages’ maniacal laughter, relief and gloating mixing into one. It sounds like my master lost.

I dare to peek into the room again. Master Navaro hangs from the balcony overseeing his destroyed room. From the waist down he’s a wet skeleton, his inner organs are spilled on the bloodied carpet all around him. Except for a piece of his intestine, it serves as the rope to hang him.

“He won’t trouble you again my dear~” Rushmia says when she notices my presence, a large satisfied grin on her face.

“Indeed, you don’t have to worry young one. We girls should stand up for one another!” The woman in the glittering gold outfit exclaims. There’s a yellow gem replacing one of her eyes, the other eye is in a light shade of magenta.

I got him killed… with all of his careful schemes, I got him killed because Janara cares too much about my wellbeing… This is… No! I can't cry! Hold those damn tears in! Don't be stupid! Rushmia must've been Navaro's enemy to begin with! There's no way she'll kill a mage for the sake of her apprentice! There's more to it than that! And if I show that I grieve his death I might be targeted…

I pull my wrist out of Janara's hand and enter the room slowly, forcing each step. I circle Navaro's corpse, spit on it, and kick one of his scattered broken organs for good measure. I’ll never forget you old man!

"That's the spirit!" The woman in the golden outfit spits on his body near me, her heel stabbing one of the scattered organs. "What's your element young one? I may take you under my wing."

"Don't bother Bolsia, she primes gravity." Rushmia answers in my stead.

"A shame. How old is she? Think Lana will be willing to take her in?" Bolsia says as if I'm not even there.

Desecrating his corpse feels wrong, but I know it might just have saved my life. He wouldn't want me to die with him here, it'd be pointless...

I'll grieve him personally when I'm away from the tower… not here…

“Thank you, master…” I tell master Rushmia. It’s near impossible for me to say these words, but I say them anyway. I leave with my heart drumming.

Another reason in a long list of reasons for me to kill Rushmia one day… I will kill that bitch, I will find out how to do it! I just have to get stronger first… Or catch her by surprise... Master Navaro did say that a mage who drops their guard can be easily killed...

*~*~*

Power level: 2nd stage apprentice.

Mana pools status:

Crown-knot: Affinity 10:

Neck-Bridge: Affinity 6: formed: max amount of gems drained per day: 66

Abdomen-storage: Affinity 5:

Air: Affinity 4: formed: 18 gems

Fire: Affinity 2: formed: 9 gems

Light: Affinity 3:

Water: Affinity 6:

Earth: Affinity 1:

Wood: Affinity 2:

Gravity: Affinity 9: formed: 41 gems

Cantrip known:

Air: Shavi’s Breeze, Shavi’s Sword.

Fire: Nuriss’ Flame.

Gravity: Lumina’s Kinetic Burst. Tukado’s Repulse. Tukado’s Lesser Shield. Imari’s Minor Telekinesis. Leo’s Pull. Leo’s Grounding. Alino’s Light body. Alino’s Heavy body.

Focus capability: 9 patterns

Social status: An apprentice.

Wealth: 1078 gems. 865 Diamonds

Items: 2 healing potions.

Companions:

Nalfit Flaming hair.

Kolag of house Befar.

Lezere of the Black Fang tribe.

Janara of Winemaker village.

Purson of Winemaker village.

Injuries and scars: