Confusion gave way to horror when the little highness saw Lena cough out a mouthful of black blood. Eyes trembling, he instinctively backed away from her as if she was the plague.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind swooped the boy off his feet and hurled him into the open carriage before the door slammed shut after him.

The guards whose attention was focused outside the protective perimeter turned in unison and now focused inward. Their taut nerves were tested once more as they drew their weapons and got ready for anything. They didn’t make a move though. As the situation was still unclear, they chose to observe.

Rose immediately appeared in front of the girl after securing the prince’s person. He looked at the teenager in front of her with seriousness. The girl’s face was ashen and black blood trickled out of her mouth and stained her attendant’s uniform.

Rose frowned slightly and performed a series of hand signs as she muttered an incantation. Then a yellowish golden hue enveloped Lena. which This her to cough up even more black blood. Rose relaxed when she noticed the young lass’s complexion slowly regaining its colour.

Soon after however, her frown returned as she tried to diagnose the cause of the phenomenon.

A backlash? A curse? These were Rose’s thoughts as she continued to cast purification magic on the girl. What was once black blood was now a sludgy black substance.

Dark magic… no, heretical arts. Her thoughts spun as she hypothesized possible causes. While dark magic could manifest curses the black sludge felt too sinister to be that simple. Unless it was extremely high dark level magic that she couldn’t recognize, Rose surmised the cause of the backlash to be a heretical art.

As she was still purifying Lena, a shrill high-pitched shriek was heard. Everyone turned in the direction of the sound only to see Faust walking out of the woods sheathing his sword.

He observed the convoy briefly before his gaze landed on the recuperating Lena. He frowned deeply.

“A high-level shade was anchored onto her,” Faust said as he walked toward the pair of attendants.

Rose’s pupils constricted as her lips trembled slightly. This was not good.

Lena was a rare genius with all twelve primary meridians opened. She had a bright future whether she chose the warrior or sorcerer’s path. She could even follow the rare path of warlocks. Currently however, she was still young and weak. She had only started condensing mana and her core wasn’t solidified. To have a high-level shade anchor onto her weak soul…

Rose’s eyes turned moist. This could sever her path of sorcery.

She sifted through her memories of the past few days until she recalled a fight at a mountain pass five days prior. It was the first time they had been ambushed by bandits. The attackers were all low ranked warriors. There were no mages in the group and the attackers were easily dispatched. Lena had partaken to gain experience. Rose remembered her getting caught in a perilous situation in a moment of carelessness but was saved by one of the escorting knights in the convoy.

Faust and Rose hadn’t taken part in that fight.

Rose recalled a brief spark of dark magic but after scanning Lena with her mana sense and finding nothing amiss, she put the matter to rest. It wasn’t uncommon for people to exhibit strength beyond their level in times of desperation. Rose had concluded that the bandit must’ve had good affinity with the dark element that either he did not know about, or had had no opportunity to explore the talent. However, now that she thought about it, maybe there was some trickery at play. While she still could not pinpoint where exactly the fire was, that incident was the only place that had smoke.

Rose clenched her fists while cursing herself for her carelessness.

“She’s been hit with a backlash,” Faust continued as he knelt in front of Lena and placed two fingers on her forehead.

Lena groaned softly as her breathing that had been erratic and shallow smoothed out. She felt a warmth flow through her body that eased her pain somewhat.

“I’ve passed some of my spiritual sense into her. It should stabilize her injury until we get to Silvestria. The elves might be able to heal her completely.” Faust consoled.

Rose nodded slightly as her eyes glittered at the mention of the elves. Indeed, while their small kingdom could not properly treat injuries of the soul, that was most likely not the case for the elves.

“We shouldn’t have to worry about being followed now. However, the owner of that shade will soon know that it’s been destroyed. You take two horses and ride with the children.” Faust’s voice was measured and firm as he gave Rose his instructions. He retrieved a scroll and a seal from his storage pouch which he put into Rose’s hand.

“We’ll stay here for another hour then follow the normal itinerary to divert attention. If that mage following us is anything good, he should’ve deciphered our destination and will attack before we get close to elven territory.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Don’t follow the path marked. Cut through the forest here until you get to Clearwood pass. Show the elven patrol there this seal and they should know what to do. The route is longer but you should be safer. Even if you happen into Beast King territory, they should give you some face with that seal in hand.”

Faust’s finger ran across the scroll map as he shot out instructions.

Rose listened intently as her head bopped up and down repeatedly in affirmation.

Preparations were made swiftly and soon two horses were prepared. Lena sat on one while Rose saddled with the prince on the other. Faust then placed a sheathed dagger in the boy's hand and looked at him solemnly.

“This dagger has some of my intent in it. Do not unsheathe it unless it’s a life-or-death crisis. Do you understand me?” Faust's voice left no room for argument.

The little prince nodded stiffly.

Faust's expression softened and he sighed. “You have to be strong Will. A baby tiger is still a tiger and you are your father’s son.”

“What about uncle Faust and the others?” The little prince's eyes were wet with reluctance.

Faust laughed, “You don’t have to worry too much about us. We aren’t weak. And with you gone, there’s no one to protect but ourselves.”

“That’s right,” another soldier chimed in. “His majesty’s Imperial guard is the best on the continent! We excel at everything, fleeing included!”

He thumped his chest proudly. This elicited a bout of laughter from the remaining soldiers.

Faust nodded at Rose who nodded back.

“May we meet again!” This was the last thing Rose said before she turned her horse and rode in the direction Faust had explained. Lena followed close behind.

The barrier formation surrounding the encampment rippled slightly as the three people and two horses exited its bounds. The sounds of hoofbeats becoming more and more indistinct filled the ten odd soldier’s ears as they watched the little highness disappear into the forest with his attendants.

Faust sighed once more when he could no longer see Rose’s group. With the image of the prince reluctantly looking back at him still in his mind, Faust’s eyes sharpened as he strengthened his resolve. “We will meet again!”

***

Somewhere above the tree canopy.

Three figures levitated elegantly in the sky as if standing on clouds. The verdant green expanse extended beautifully in all directions around them and made for a picturesque panorama reminiscent of angels descending to the mortal world.

“Elder Caldwell, are you certain they want to seek refuge with the Woodland Elves?” The one who asked was a man wearing a black cloak with its hood drawn back.

The man had delicate fair features and looked to be in his early to mid twenties. The Black cloak he wore coupled with his tall six-foot frame afforded him the bearing of a young leader. This was only complimented by the gold that lined the cloak’s hems that added a touch of regal nobility to the man’s appearance. The man was truly easy on the eyes.

“I’m fairly positive,” replied on of the two armoured warriors by his side. “Most people don’t know about it but there is a road that passes through Pride King’s territory leading to the elven city of Silvestria.”

The man called elder Caldwell, who spoke looked to be entering his latter years. Crow’s feet lined the corners of his eyes while his hair looked more grey than black. That did not detract for his authoritative and mighty bearing, however. And despite his position half a step behind the cloaked youth, he was clearly the most senior person present that even the youth had to respectfully call him ‘elder.’

“How come we don’t know about it?” asked the youth.

The elder sighed and shook his head with resignation.

The youth caught the slight exasperation contained in that sigh but did not say anything. He just patiently waited for the elder’s response.

“How can we not know?” elder Caldwell begun. “It is you, scion Lokhart, who insisted on taking matters into your own hands and running off on your own without making sufficient preparations. Now look what you did? Your rashness led you into a trap. Many of our people died in that diversion of theirs and you would have lost your life as well if I hadn’t rushed over!”

The old man was about to foam at the mouth at this point. “And for what!? To get an edge over the other scions? So what if you’re now a great mage? Weren’t you as helpless as a lamb in front of the Blade General?

“If it wasn’t for one of our informants having spotted the prince’s attendant in a village town how would you account for the losses to the Sorcerer Supreme?”

Silence filled the air. The youth did not dare to respond as it was indeed his recklessness that led to their massive losses. The second armoured warrior, being the lowest in status present, was even less inclined to speak.

It was the scion who ultimately broke the silence. “I think father is making a big deal out of nothing,” he said. “Isn’t that king of Aurum just a supernatural? What’s the big deal? Aren’t you a supernatural as well?”

“You don’t understand,” Caldwell sighed. “That man is too unfathomable. He’s at the very peak of the supernatural realm. And he’s just in his early fifties!”

“So what if he’s a genius?” the youth sneered in disdain. “There’s no path for warriors beyond supernatural. Can he go against arch mages as a supernatural?”

“You’re thinking too simply,” the elder shook his head. “All his generals are supernatural. Since when has the Supernatural realm been so common that so many appear in the same place?

The youth’s eyes sharpened as an unsettling thought struck him. He looked intently at the elder to his side. “You mean…”

“I’m not sure either,” Caldwell shook his head. “But the Sorcerer Supreme is almost certain that he has either devised or come across a systemized method to open the path forward for warriors.”

The old man sighed a wistful sigh. He followed the warrior’s path as well so he knew all too well the tribulations he had gone through and the vast chasm that lay at the end of his path. This was why he was so conflicted. He too was a warrior! His present allegiances aside, he also wanted to explore that legendary realm beyond Supernatural.

Sigh~ If a path truly does exist, I can only hope that the Sorcerer Supreme only monopolizes the method and doesn’t destroy it. That would be such a pity. Caldwell thought to himself, shaking his head.

At this moment, a grunt escaped the lips of the cloaked scion which pulled the two armoured warriors out of their thoughts.

The scion’s eyes gleamed as he wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his lips. “My shade has been killed.” His face then split into a satisfied smile as he looked at a certain spot in the distance. “We’ve found them.”