The Blood Born Magus - Chapter 1

Jayden

Edwin drew his sword and pointed it toward Jayden with gritted teeth. “You are nothing but a fucking coward!” He glanced toward Victoria, Theo, and Robert, waiting for them to follow his example. “What are you waiting for? Let’s kill this traitor and be done with it.”

Jayden ignored the insult and positioned his horse so he could keep his eye on both Edwin and Robert, the other two weren’t a threat. He had been sure to win over both Theo and Victoria before making his move.

Seeing the lack of response from the other three generals, Edwin’s face twisted in anger. “You would really let this fucking puppet we propped up destroy everything we have bled for?” The words were meant as an insult for all of them, but it was clear that he was talking directly to Robert.

Jayden observed Robert’s reactions, but the general just looked uncomfortable.

Noticing his gaze, Robert looked toward Jayden, then over to Theo and Victoria before frowning. “I… think the commander is right. This war has gone on for long enough, and we had enough problems without those damn barbarians invading from the northern border.”

Hearing his words, Theo and Victoria perked up. The two of them were clearly surprised by Robert’s actions.

Due to their past relationship, Robert had almost always taken Edwin’s side in every decision. It was something that he had considered while planning, but he thought it unlikely that Robert would value his loyalty over his own life. Few men did.

For the first time since joining forces with him, Edwin truly looked uncomfortable. His brows knitted and his bald head began to pale. It seemed that realization had finally dawned on him. For the first time, he wasn’t in control. “All of you are nothing but spineless cowards.” He spat at the feet of Jayden’s horse and sneered. “And if you think that I will allow you to do as you wish, commander, you are dead wrong.” Edwin spun his horse and dug his heels into its side, fleeing at a full sprint.

Jayden watched with disinterest. The faster Edwin ran his horse, the less time the poison would take to kick in. He turned toward Theo and Victoria who were waiting behind him. “After you kill him, immediately begin the preparations.”

“Yes, commander.” Theo saluted, then moved his horse to pursue Edwin, but Victoria paused. She looked at him for a moment, mouth opening as if she would say something, but then she just saluted and wordlessly followed after Theo.

Jayden watched her leave expressionlessly. Sleeping with Victoria had been a mistake. She had been there when he needed her, but despite what she said, it was clear that she had feelings for him.

Jayden reached for his flask. It wasn’t as though it mattered anymore, they would never see each other again. He brought the flask to his mouth and took in a mouthful of the harsh liquor, allowing it to slide down his throat and ravage the mana that was inside of his body.

As the pain of his chaotic mana washed over him, Jayden looked toward Robert. “Let’s go. We still have a long journey to Hovardstead.” Without waiting for a reply, Jayden turned his horse and began walking his horse.

Robert watched Jayden’s horse as it moved away for a moment, then threw a glance back to Theo and Victoria as they pursued Edwin. He seemed to rethink his decision, but then let out a sigh and led his horse to follow Jayden.

Seeing Robert follow, Jayden dropped his heightened awareness. Although he made it seem like he wasn’t worried about Robert taking Edwin’s side, in reality, Robert was a substantial factor in his plans. Without Robert, there would be no one to stop Edwin’s troops from turning on him.

He didn’t have any interest in destroying half of their remaining fighting force if he didn’t have to.

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Aubrey

Aubrey watched uninterestedly as Jordan and Noah exchanged quick blows with their practice swords. The two brothers looked almost identical with their cropped brown hair and muscular builds. Still, she had to admit, their speed was impressive. Despite their lack of skill as wind Magi.

“Do you think Jordan’s muscles seem slightly larger and more defined than they were two days ago?”

Olivia heard the question, and her lips curled into a mischievous smile. “Funny, his muscle definition seemed to have somehow changed after your date last night.”

Her answer was met by the giggles of the other six girls surrounding them.

Charlotte’s face flared crimson, and she averted her gaze in embarrassment. “How did you know about that?”

Emily, who was in the middle of laughing, rolled her eyes. “As if Noah wouldn’t tell me.”

“You didn’t need to tell everyone! Besides, at least I can get a date. The rest of you just fawn over Cole.” Charlotte said the words in mock anger, but by her expression, anyone could see that she was secretly pleased that the others knew of her new relationship. It would make bragging to those who couldn’t get dates far easier.

At the mention of Cole, all of them turned towards where Aubrey was sitting behind them.

Someone kill me.

“So, speaking of Cole, how are things going Aubrey?” Unsurprisingly, Olivia was the one to ask the question. Damn gossiper.

“How are things going with what?” Her feigned ignorance was awarded with several eye rolls from her ‘love rivals’.

Olivia flipped black her blond curls. “Come now, the two of you are a perfect match. Besides, not only is he a fifth descendant, but his father is also the Arch Magus. Don’t even try to tell us that your father isn’t trying to get the two of you together.”

That was true enough. Her father, and Coles father for that matter, were both trying to get them together. That would never happen though, the two of them were quite literally polar opposites. The ice magic she inherited from her mother made even the slightest physical contact with Cole and his fire magic nauseating, and she was quite sure he felt the same way.

Instead of responding to Olivia, Aubrey acted as though she was preoccupied with the sparring match in the pit in front of them. She couldn’t fathom how the girls in front of her had been spawned from the elegant and dignified women of her mother’s court.

Olivia wasn’t deterred. “Speaking of Cole, I’m sure he is pleased. From what I’ve heard, that war his father chose to start in Azaria is ending.”

Aubrey perked up at that news. “Where did you hear that?” The war with Azaria had been a nightmare for Prisca, and even if the Arch Magus was the one who truly pushed for it, the commoners placed all of the blame on her father. An end to the war wasn’t just good for the Arch Magus.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Olivia’s lips curled. She seemed to get off on spreading information. “I just heard. Apparently, the new commander of the Azarian army surrendered. He even agreed to all of our terms immediately. There wasn’t a single compromise or refusal.”

Aubrey’s eyes knitted slightly in thought. “From what I’ve heard, they just put a young Magus in command as a figurehead. He shouldn’t actually have that much power, especially if it’s just an upstart Magus from Azaria.” She didn’t focus on gathering information like Olivia did, but she still heard bits and pieces from her mother’s intelligence network.

Olivia’s eyes rounded, and she covered her mouth with her hand in mock surprise. “You didn’t hear?”

Aubrey’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t appreciate the condescension in Olivia’s expression. “Hear what?”

Olivia glanced at the others around her conspiratorially to make sure she had their attention. “The Azarian Magus defeated Commander Elozol in a decisive battle only a week ago.”

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Jayden

“Is it because we lost at the Dalazar Ravine?” Robert continued to pace quickly. After waiting for hours, the Priscan envoy was now within their view, and Robert was beginning to behave erratically. “You held their Magus up far longer than any of us would have thought.” Robert stopped pacing and stared at him. “We don’t need to do this. We can still find allies in other kingdoms. We can still fight.”

Instead of answering, Jayden took another swig out of his flask as he watched the approaching Priscans. Robert was beginning to aggravate him. The people who he despised the most were those who fought and slaughtered without reason.

His lack of response caused Robert to snort and begin pacing again. “I always thought it was strange that a Magus would just appear, but now everything makes sense. You were nothing but a traitor from the start, and Edwin didn’t suspect a thing. Now the bastard is probably rotting in some hole that Theo dug up.”

It was amusing that he was branded a traitor when Edwin was the one who killed Eric, the previous commander of the Azarian forces. Jayden examined the flask in his hand. Robert was making him wish that he could actually get drunk, something he hadn’t wanted in years.

The two of them remained silent as they watched the envoy’s heavily guarded carriage and a mobile prison cell roll through what had once been the gates of Hovardstead, only stopping when it was a short distance away from them in the ruins that had once been a town square. Half of the guards immediately spread out, setting up a perimeter and checking for an ambush.

After searching thoroughly, and only finding the scattered refugees that were currently residing in Hovarstead, the guards signaled back to the carriage where one of them opened the door.

Stepping out was a thin, scholarly looking man with his dirty blond hair slicked back into a refined ponytail. He looked completely out of place in the ruins of Hovarstead, which was emphasized by his terrified expression.

The envoy glanced around, then identifying Jayden and Robert, he motioned towards them. “Bring the table and the papers over there.”

Jayden watched with interest as the young envoy came closer. The envoy was young, likely around his age of eighteen. Clearly they had sent someone who was expendable.

The guards that the envoy brought over had their hands on their weapons, which was understandable. The ones who brought the table set it down and placed a chair on either side while the envoy received a packet with several papers. The envoy sat down and began rifling through them, pulling out several papers and laying them on the table. That done, he looked up at Robert with a forced smile. “My name is Logan Tullius, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Please have a seat, Commander Jayden.”

Robert, who was behaving surprisingly well up to that point, sneered and pointed to Jayden. “You don’t even recognize your own traitor?”

Logan looked toward Jayden, who was resting on a tree stump with a flask in his hand, with a lack of comprehension. His appearance was in stark contrast to Robert’s short military haircut and commanding presence. “Excuse me?”

Jayden stood. “I am Jayden.” Robert causing problems was within his expectations. There was nothing to be done. He couldn’t kill him, and he couldn’t allow him to go back to the rest of the army until Theo and Victoria stabilized things there.

“Y-you’re Commander Jayden?” For a reason he couldn’t comprehend, Logan actually began shaking. As if afraid that he had committed some grave offense. “I’m terribly sorry lord Magus, I didn’t mean to offend. I had heard you were young, but due to your accomplishments, I wouldn’t have thought that you were this young.”

Jayden just nodded as he sat in the chair on his side of the table. Logan was either well trained or quick-witted. He covered a possible insult with a compliment seamlessly while trying to regain his footing in a conversation, all while being terrified.

“Accomplishments?” Robert gave a snort as he paced by the table. “He is barely a Magus in name, and he can’t even project his magic. Twenty well-trained soldiers would be far more useful than him in any fight.”

Logan looked at Robert in confusion. “I beg your pardon, but only a week ago Commander Jayden successfully neutralized then-Commander Elozol.”

Hearing Logan’s words, Robert stared into space and Jayden frowned.

“You…”

Acting preeminently, Jayden stood and bashed Robert in the head. Not hard enough to kill him, just enough to knock him out for a few hours. Then he sat back down and dismissed Robert from his mind. Two of the guards, likely the more experienced ones, began drawing their swords after he sat back down, while the others seemed to have been too surprised by his speed. “You said ‘then-Commander Elozol’?”

It took Logan a few seconds to regain his bearing, but he recovered quickly and comprehended the meaning behind the question. “Now that the war with Azaria has come to a conclusion, Nolan Elozol is no longer acting commander of the Priscan forces in Azaria. Instead, he has retaken his previous post in Prisca’s Magi Association.”

Jayden nodded. “What of my request?”

Logan began to quickly shuffle through the papers on the table. “Ah, of course. They have all been approved.”

That was slightly surprising, but it didn’t matter. He would have agreed to surrender with or without them.

Pulling out a particular paper, Logan smiled. “Let’s see. Three requests in total. First request. During Prisca’s occupation, any Azarian who pledges loyalty to Prisca will be provided with a daily allotment of food until they can provide for themselves, or ten years have passed from the day this treaty is signed.” Logan glanced up, and Jayden nodded.

“Second request. During Prisca’s occupation, Prisca will be solely responsible for repelling any barbarian tribes from the northern border and will not use any Azarians, conscripted or otherwise, to defend Azaria.” Again, Logan glanced up, and Jayden gave a slight nod.

“Third request.” Logan glanced at the flask in Jayden’s hand and cleared his throat. “You may bring whatever drink you like with you.” This time Jayden nodded without being prompted. His liquor would have been sorely missed on the way to his public execution.

After acquiring his confirmation, Logan smiled. “Excellent. Now, let’s go over the terms of surrender so we can sign the treaty and be off.”

He had no interest in the terms of surrender. “There is no need, just show me where to sign.”

Logan looked uncertain for a brief moment, then nodded. “Of course, just sign here” He indicated toward a line on one of the more finely scripted pages, then slid a quill across the table.

Jayden took the quill and examined it. There seemed to be a vial of ink in the center that had a controlled release in the tip. Just holding it in his hands brought forth memories he would rather have forgotten. The only time he had used something similar was when his mother had forced him to learn his letters when he was four. Thinking back, it was almost laughable how much he had despised those times he spent with her.

Jayden glanced down at the treaty. It had taken him three long years, but he finally fulfilled one of his promises, and had even found a loophole for the second.

Reaching down, he scratched out ‘Jayden’ then passed the treaty back to Logan.

Logan saw the lack of surname and frowned, but didn’t say anything. “That is all we needed. Are you ready to leave now?”

“One moment.” Jayden stood and walked to his horse. After grabbing his bag of alcohol, he walked back to Logan and nodded, his hands outstretched.

Logan took a deep breath, as if gathering his confidence. Then he took out a pair of handcuffs and placed them over Jayden’s wrist in preparation to lock them. “In the name of King Lucas of Prisca, the first of his royal line, I hereby…”

Instead of waiting for the pointless ceremony to finish, Jayden took the handcuffs from Logan and then locked them. Then, taking a swig out of his flask, he walked toward prison cell behind the carriage with a now silent Logan when he heard one of the guards throwing up.

The others around the guard went on high alert, drawing their weapons and asking what had happened. Even Logan looked curiously, despite his nervousness at the thought of a potential threat. He turned to Jayden. “What is going on?”

The heaving guard pointed down an alleyway where a mother was carefully feeding her adolescent child with tiny bits of food.

Upon glancing at the dirt covered mother and child, Jayden immediately saw it for what it was. The scene had become familiar enough in the past few years. “Unfortunately, anyone who was worth saving with this treaty is already dead.” The words came out a bit more bitter than he had intended.

One of the guards stepped closer and paled. “Oh my god, that’s a fucking rotting corpse. She is feeding it a rotting fucking corpse.”

Everyone went still, processing the words of the guard. Then Logan was the first to throw up.