“Witches, warlocks, gremlins, ogres - they're just words, labels. Haven't you noticed that when people are labelled, their faces disappear?”
— Anna Fienberg
LOCATION: AVALON REALM
REGION: THE CRYSTAL LANDS NEAR THE BASE OF THE GREAT PYRAMID OF AVALON
Nidus Kane Dupree teleported into a room somewhere inside the Great Pyramid of Avalon. He was not along, by his side was his demon. The ever well-dressed Balocustos, the demon served Nidus through a magical contract they forged when Nidus was only a wizard. Now however, they stand as equals at least in service to Olana. After seeing the power of Olana outside the city walls of Camelot. Nidus had ordered Balocustos to seek out the Devil Queen to request an audience. Balocustos after a short time manage contact Olana who agreed to Nidus’s request.
Upon meeting Olana once again, Nidus offered his services to the Devil Queen. Who tested his serenity and devotion? Nidus passed the test and he became Olana’s first warlock in 5,000 years. Serving Olana, Nidus would tell you it was the best job in the universe. His own magical reservoir had increased ten folds, he had access to magical knowledge and devices, and with the grimoire Olana gave him. His powers have been increasing gradually. Nidus considers meeting Olana to have been the luckiest day of his life.
“Welcome to the Great Pyramid of Avalon and to the Crystal Lands Warlock Nidus and to you Balocustos.”
Nidus and Balocustos saw the individual who spoke, they could not miss her because she was the only one in the teleportation chamber. She stood at seven-feet tall with green eyes and long blonde hair wearing colored tribal robes of the Vales tribe.
“Greetings. May I presume to be speaking with the Head Shaman Serene of the Vales Tribe.”
Nidus said with a bow, Serene returned the gesture responding with.
“You may.”
A large door which Nidus thought was a wall shifted and lifted to reveal a corridor. Serene motioned and said.
“Please, allow me to escort you to our other guess.”
“Lead the way.”
Nidus said. As they followed the Arcadian shaman out of the teleportation chamber, Nidus was not surprised to see guards in the corridors and near the entrance. When they saw the warlock, they nodded their respects and returned to their duties. Nidus raised his eyebrows in surprise. Serene must have seen his reaction because she said.
“Warlocks who have sworn themselves to Lady Olana’s service are highly regarded by my people. It means that you do not see Olana as some primeval devil to be destroyed or feared.”
“Yes, the first time I saw her. I knew she was different. I’ve never dealt with any devils only demons. So, I was in uncharted territory.”
Nidus had a fond smile on his face, remembering how scared he was to even stand before Olana. Nidus shook off the reminiscing and got back to the task at hand.
“What can you tell me about this witch from Fellcrest?”
“Her name is Cassandra Longster.”
Serene began.
“She is a witch, but what I can tell from her low magical reserves. She does not have a lot of power to cast any major or high-level spells. I talked to her about it and she told me she was born with a very small magical reservoir. After yours of practice and study, she only able to cast two major spells and perhaps one high-level spell. After that, she is drained almost to nothing and unable to cast any more spells for at least 24 hours.”
Nidus winced at hearing that, the ability to cast multiple spells and different type of spells is vital for the survival of magic users. But the second most important thing for magic users is endurance. A magic user needs to have the endurance for a battle, for casting spells, for creating devices using magic, and for almost anything you can think of when it comes to casting spells or performing high levels of magic.
“That’s a shame.”
Nidus finally replied, and Serene nodded in agreement but then she said.
“I imagine that if it was any other person, they would have given up years ago. But Cassandra did not, she found a new way of using her magic.”
“How so?”
Nidus was curious about this witch.
“With such a small reserve of magical particles, she has learned to cast multiple minor spells for a long period of time. I’m still trying to understand how she makes them so effective. Cassandra says that she has taught herself to combine certain spells to make them more powerful in a fight.”
Nidus was indeed impressed if what Serene said about Cassandra’s capabilities is true. Then, the witch has been able to find a new path to spellcasting despite her handicap. As Nidus and Serene continue to converse about the witch from Fellcrest. Balocustos half listened to the discussion, his thoughts were contemplating on his new role in the reborn Crystal Empire. Before he returned to Avalon by his master’s side, he was in the Nether Realm at the Crystal Pyramid. Balocustos had stopped by before heading to Camelot, he had wished to speak with Olana about certain issues his informants had reported to him. Recently, two angels from Romanhall stayed at Camelot for a few days. Unfortunately, Balocustos’s informants could not discover why they were there. But if he had to guess, these Romantian angels were investigating Lady Olana’s brief stay in Camelot. Perhaps, they went to the very hotel room she had stayed in.
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Balocustos was not glad to hear that Olana and some of the others had left the pyramid with a mortal in search of a demon called the Collector. He had heard of the Collector, and it was very hard to decide which was rumor and which was fact. One thing was clear, every story he has ever heard about the Collector says that he would do anything to collect rare or unique beings or objects. Olana and her Rod of Might are very rare and slightly unique. Balocustos had no doubt about the Collector trying to add Olana to his collections if the stories about the demon is true. Balocustos also knows that such an action would be a grave mistake by the Collector. Olana’s powers could not be fathom, and he was a good judge at measuring the power levels of devils and demons. But for some reason, Balocustos could not gauge the Devil Queen’s power. Which could only mean two things. One, Olana is intentionally or unintentionally suppressing her powers so that enemies or allies cannot tell how powerful she truly is. Or two, Olana’s power is so unfathomable that it cannot be measured. The ladder made Balocustos nervous, it meant that his master has bound himself to a being even the gods once feared.
With Olana on a quest of her own, Balocustos gave his report to Kasca. Who would give it to Olana once she returned, he had no doubt about that? By the end of these thoughts, Serene had led them to the guests’ suits. She stopped in front of an ordinately carved wooden door and knocked a few times on the wood.
“Come in.”
The voice from the other side of the door was feminine and soft. Serene opened the door and went in, Nidus and Balocustos followed soon after. Nidus soon realize that the room is in fact a suite. It was lavishly decorated and furnished, as well as comfortable. Nidus saw there then, a young woman with different colored hair of blonde, brown, and black. Not to mention the color of her eyes brown and green. She was sitting in a chair with a book in hand. As they came in, the woman put down in the book on a small coffee table and stood up.
“Hello Cassandra, I’ve brought some guests to see you.”
Serene motioned towards Nidus and Balocustos, Nidus was a bit surprise when Cassandra nodded at the demon too.
“Are you the warlock Nidus Kane Dupree?”
Cassandra asked. Nidus nodded.
“Yes, and you are Cassandra Longster of Fellcrest.”
He retorted.
“No longer of Fellcrest.”
Cassandra replied sadly. When Nidus gave her a questioning look, she elaborated.
“The Council of Magic tried to have me killed. As far as I’m concern, any loyalty I had for them went out the window with their betrayal. Now, for the first time in my life. I seek a new path for me.”
Cassandra gestured to the chairs.
“Please, all of you have a seat.”
She took her own chair and waited for Nidus and Serene to sit, but Balocustos politely declined and leaned his back against the wall. Cassandra nodded to the demon, and seeing this Nidus had to ask.
“You don’t seem alarmed to have a demon in your presence. I know that there are some wizards in Fellcrest who make use of demons. Have you had a lot of contact with demons?”
“No not really. Of course, I have seen a few wizards with demons such as imps and fiends. The low-level ones, but I never got close. Demons I’ve been told are physically stronger than humans no matter their level.”
Nidus nodded agreeing with that statement.
“Since coming to the Crystal Lands, I’ve met some major and greater demons. All of them Harkuns, and from my interactions with them I’ve begun to wonder what kind of devil is Olana?”
Cassamdra finished with a question. Nidus thought for a moment before replying.
“You want to know what kind of devil Olana is.”
It was not a question, but Cassandra answered it anyway.
“Yes, for the Arcadians, Olana is their goddess. For the Harkuns, she is their Queen. But what is she to you? You are not an Arcadian; therefore, you have not been brought in the faith of Olana. Yet, you chose to become her warlock. Why?”
“You heard about the incident in Camelot?”
Nidus asked and when Cassandra nodded, he went on.
“I was part of a group of combat wizards who participated in the battle outside the walls of Camelot. That was the first time I met Olana. She had to power to destroy the Knights of Camelot, the wizards, the Romantians, their Arcadians slave fighting force, and even the king and head wizard.”
Nidus paused and sighed, remembering the battle with Olana.
“We were no match for her. All our magic and weapons could not even scratch her. King Adrian Pendragon and High Wizard Dogan held their own, but even they could not wound Olana. The only one who was able to injure Olana was none other than the Arcadian War Leader. Serene’s older sister Sandra, and she managed to do it twice. Even then, Olana did not slay anyone.”
“I hadn’t heard the details about that incident. All that was said is that a greater she-devil had appeared in Camelot and retreated after a fierce battle with the Holy Church of Romanto and the forces of Camelot.”
Cassandra stated, and Serene scoffed.
“Of course, the Romantians would not want the details of that battle to be known by the rest of the world. They want everyone to believe that they are the saviors of all that is good and right with the world.”
The Arcadian shaman said those last words sarcastically.
“When the world knows they have been conquering nation after nation. Subjugating people after people. If Lady Olana had not returned, the Romantians would be planning an invasion of Arthuria.”
Serene had a point, over the decades the Holy Church of Romanto have been testing the resolves of the Arthurians to fight. Unbeknownst to many throughout the world of Avalon, the Romantians have been planning the invasion of Arthuria for several years. They would have put it into motion sometime this year. But then, Olana returned and now they have new priorities.
“When I heard that Olana had a warlock on Avalon, I wanted to meet you, to talk with you. Now that I have, I’ve made a decision.”
Cassandra declared.
“What decision have you made?”
Nidus asked curiously.
“Ever since I could remember, I’ve had low magical reservoirs. I am unable to use high-level spells for a long period of time during battle. Or perform any high-level spells for ritual. I was born with this handicap, and to make matter worse, I was born a commoner. A great sin if you ask the noble magic users of Fellcrest.”
Cassandra inhaled a deep breath and exhaled, then she continued.
“It was hard at the academy in Fellcrest. I was a commoner among nobles and my magic was not so impressive. But I endured all the taunts and humiliations, I studied and worked hard. Developing a new way to use my magic. I thought if I should everyone my worth, then they would see me as someone worthy of respect and recognition. I was wrong. They wanted me dead.”
Again, Cassandra paused remembering those years at the academy. They were hard years, frustrating years. At times, she wanted to quit. She almost came close to quitting, but she would not give those smock bastards the satisfaction of running her off. But it was all for nothing.
“They wanted me dead. I have lived my life for Fellcrest, for the Council of Magic. But they were willing to throw me away like so much trash. If my loyalty means nothing to them, then I will give my loyalty to so one who appreciates it. To someone who will see my hard work and know that they have someone special. I have lived for Fellcrest, now, I will live for myself and those who appreciate my skills and talent.”
Then, Cassandra looked Nidus straight into his eyes and said.
“I have decided, I want to become Olana’s next warlock.”