Sitting in front of the desk Rovenna stirred her cup of hot tea with gentle movements, focusing on the small ripples that rose on the surface of the dark liquid. This repetitive action calmed her down when in fact all she wanted to do was to shatter the cup against Zoran's smug face.
He was at that moment in front of her talking with the Leader of the Order of Stormbrace about the newly discovered secret passages. As was becoming his habit, he had claimed responsibility for the inquiry without consulting her first. Not that the subject really interested Rovenna but at least the matter had distracted him enough to put aside the search for Olivia and Silas.
Even so, that discovery was intriguing, even for her, since it meant that the passageway found at the City Hall was probably created after the reconstruction of the port just when the order of wizards that would be in charge of running the city had been founded. It was rumored that there were others hidden in different corners of Stormbrace but these had never been found. Now, it seemed, they knew the location of one but it was impossible to reveal the seal that hid it.
And the only source of information was the boy they had caught. By the time the news of his capture reached Rovenna's ears and she immediately reported to the dungeon, the poor child had already received a beating that left him covered in bruises and bloodstains. She ordered the guards to stop and forbade the use of torture. She then questioned the boy herself to reassure the wizards but was unable to get any information. The boy insisted that he knew nothing about the passages and Rovenna had no reason to believe otherwise since such a young child could not master the use of the seals.
Dhabeos Myrkan had even turned up to demand the boy's release, but although the Master Arcanist had ordered his wounds to be treated, she was not yet ready to let him go. She despised torture but she couldn't show weakness in front of her subordinates, besides that situation served her plans. As soon as she confirmed that Silas and Olivia had left the port, she would release the child, even if that sparked outrage among the rest of the wizards. For now at least she knew they hadn't been captured.
“Master Arcanist!” the Leader of the Order, a short man with a long dark beard and puffy cheeks, planted both hands on the desk. “I beg you to reconsider! The child will say nothing unless–!”
“I will not allow it,” Rovenna dropped the spoon and looked him straight in the eye.
The wizard stepped back and looked down at the floor knowing that his attitude could be taken as defiance.
“My apologies... but without torture we will get nowhere. The thief refuses to cooperate!”
“That thief is a child. He must be the same age as one of your grandchildren, isn't he, Master Leader?”
The magician pursed his lips before speaking.
“It's different... My grandson has not broken the law!”
“What law has been broken? There is no proof that the passageway exists.”
“One of my wizards saw it with her own eyes and she even witnessed another child escaping through it!”
“I don't doubt your subordinate's words but...” Rovenna shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms. “Perhaps she got confused.”
“She got confused, you said?”
“No one has been able to activate the seal. Not even me. I even tried with the elven seals. Nothing worked. What would be the explanation then? I won't let a child be harmed, especially not for something that can't be proven. Are you telling me that a little boy is more powerful than all of us?”, she snorted.
“Even so... he tried to steal our main course!” The man's cheeks looked like they were about to explode. For him, the worst thing was that his dinner had been ruined.
“He was hungry and probably without family. I am well aware of the dealings of the wizards in Stormbrace, Master Leader, and I think the time has come for me to do something about it.” Rovenna rested her chin on both hands, pondering.
“What do you–?”
Zoran stepped forward.
“Rovenna...” as usual he avoided calling her by her title. “As much as we've had our disagreements, I never thought you were so naive.”
She gave him a bored look.
“You are naive if you keep showing me disrespect. But if you want to know so much about the passages, you have my permission to destroy the wall.”
“Master Arcanist!” the Leader of the Order was shocked. “That could destroy the City Hall!”
Rovenna waved a hand.
“The Council will bear the costs of the reconstruction. In the meantime, you can look for another accommodation. The port has plenty of abandoned houses... We have another mission here.”
“And what... Master Arcanist,” Zoran began to say through gritted teeth, “is our mission? Allow me to be confused as I cannot understand how you are sitted here so calmly, taking care of a simple thief, when there is a rumor that there is a chimera loose in the kingdom.”
So Zoran now believed there were chimeras. Since he had arrived at the port they had not had time to discuss the subject but now Rovenna was curious about his change of heart.
“I'm the confused one here, Zoran. Do you really believe the traitors of Shadowrock?”
“During the attack on the eastern fringe, the wizards sensed a strange force. In addition, the boy with golden eyes.”
“The family of actors who were interrogated did not say anything about golden eyes.”
“Their versions contradicted each other, besides I will always believe wizards rather than mere civilians. Something strange is going on. Someone attacked the eastern fringe and it wasn't Eldrin... If you had left him alive now we could–”
“The Conclave will decide what to do with me. Eldrin was a traitor. What he did would have been punishable by death anyway,” Rovenna sighed pretending sympathy for him. “The work has exhausted you, Zoran, you are not thinking clearly. Chimeras... for the Nymph's sake! I would suggest you take a few days off. With all the beautiful places scattered throughout the length and breadth of our kingdom–”
“They say that Nymph's Heaven must be beautiful at this time of the year,” interrupted the Leader of the Order who, despite feeling displeased, was now trying to win Rovenna's approval.
Since she had arrived, he had not stopped offering flattery and gifts, as well as a banquet worthy of kings, while the Master Arcanist had been busy inspecting the building. She had even observed the wizards' training, quite disappointing, by the way, as she had pointed out to the Leader who looked embarrassed seeing almost all the Masters who dared to fight with Rovenna rolling on the floor.
Apparently, at Stormbrace the Order's only concern was the revenue from the high taxes that helped pay for their lavish lifestyle. The Leader himself at that time wore an attire far more ornate than Rovenna's own robe and whose golden gleams could only rival the outfits that members of the Conclave wore at important celebrations.
But she was also to blame for having tolerated the wastefulness, busy with more pressing matters while trying to assert her power. The port administration would be next on her pending list.
As Rovenna foresaw, Zoran, who was not even supposed to accept the existence of the word “rest”, ignored her words.
“You must have sensed something. You are an Astra after all.”
Rovenna gave him a warning look.
“My family stopped hunting chimeras a long time ago,” she took a deep breath, trying not to lose her temper. “But since you mention it, no. I didn't feel anything, except for the fluctuations... Unless, of course, you believe that chimeras have that much power.”
“None of what's happening makes sense.”
“On that we agree.”
Something resembling a smile played on Zoran's lips.
“That is why I have sent a message requesting the Count of Shadowrock to appear before the Council.”
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Rovenna was finding it hard to contain the fire building up in her lungs.
“This is beyond your authority.”
“It is obvious that he has lied to us. There may be no chimeras but his daughter harbors far greater power than we thought.”
“I will deal with the Count myself.”
“I understand it will be the Conclave who will handle the matter.”
This time Rovenna received the news with a sneer.
“I see now, Zoran, that you have no faith even in your own abilities. A pity. The only way you can take my job is to cry to your family.”
She watched in satisfaction as Zoran's huge nostrils flared, her words had hit the mark.
However, Zoran continued to speak in a low tone, though not lacking in menace.
“Loyalty to the Council, before anyone else, especially when the Master Arcanist's friendships threatened to shatter the stability of the kingdom.”
A twinge of concern shot through Rovenna's chest.
“The Count of Shadowrock–”
“I don't mean just the Count. The list is quite long: the traitor Fidelia Dabrus, Korinna Franko who resigned her post to carry out suspicious inventions, the insane Myrius Sentos–”
“Who also believes in chimeras as you do now.”
“All three were at the Circle during the attack. Then there is Theo Malis casually newly appointed as Leader of the Order of Shadowrock even though he was suspected of teaching magic in the slums without permission. Your friendship with Jasper Bloom and your fondness for the pirates is also known... And this brings me to Dhabeos Myrkan.”
“Dhabeos Myrkan is not a pirate.”
“Descendant of a pirate, whatever... but that's not the point. What do you really know about his wife?”
In truth, Rovenna knew nothing or didn't want to look into it - who cared about a woman whose sole task was to educate the orphaned children of Stormmbrace? But no, for someone like Zoran the cleaning had to be extreme and, if the rumors Rovenna had ever heard were true, Dhabeos' wife was a pirate or at least had been before she married him. Besides, Rovenna had seen his wife with her own eyes. She saw nothing special about her. An ordinary woman Dhabeos had met in a tavern in Nemertya, according to his own words.
No, no, Dhabeos could not be that foolish. He was a rational man, just as she was. He would never throw away all his years of career, his reputation... Moreover, he would never jeopardize the peace of the kingdom for anything but a matter of the heart, much less condemn the life of the woman he loved.
But there is always a first time to be wrong about people.
Zoran was now watching her with an expression that mingled disdain and satisfaction.
Rovenna was finding it harder and harder to contain her fury. How easy it would be to dismiss him at that moment. All she had to do was say so, but if she did, her authority would be undermined when the Conclave reinstated him just like that.
Zoran Wildheart was untouchable at least as far as his position was concerned. Given the chance, Rovenna would make him swallow dust as she had done the last time they had faced each other during a training session in front of the forming Acolytes.
The air in the room had become so charged with tension that Rovenna could even feel tiny, invisible particles of magic sizzling between her and Zoran. That argument was leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. She took a sip of her tea which by then had cooled, though that served to soothe the burning she felt in her throat. The worst thing she could do was to show him that his words could affect her. She could not let herself be overcome by anxiety. As long as she kept calm she could calculate her next moves in advance. She wouldn't let any mama's boy take her place just like that.
However, as she thought about how to respond to Zoran's suspicions, a shiver ran down her spine, as if an icy blast had crept into the room. It wasn't just her who noticed it. Zoran's expression had also changed giving way to confusion. She rose from her seat at the same time he and the other wizard turned to the study window whose view encompassed the towering cliff upon which Stormbrace stood.
Outside the dark clouds hovered over the port, laden with lightning that snaked across the sky, briefly illuminating the wooden and stone platforms that zigzagged along the cliff walls and the ships moored at the docks buffeted by violent waves and the onslaught of the wind which howled like a chorus of raging deities.
“The wind has changed,” observed the Leader of the Order with a frown.
“Not just the wind,” Zoran's eyes reflected the flashes of the storm. His steady voice was tinged with a strange nervousness.
A bolt of lightning that seemed to split the sky in half struck land at the other end of the cliff just where the ruins of the old lighthouse stood. The thunder echoed like a colossal roar that crossed the long distance between the two ends of the cliff and made the walls vibrate. The teacup tipped over, spilling liquid onto the parchments and rolled to shatter on the floor. Several other objects in the room suffered the same fate and various pieces of furniture flipped over.
Rovenna felt a tug in her chest, a pang she recognized as magic, a primal, wild magic, overflowing like a river breaking a dam. She didn't have time to articulate it before a surge of energy shook her from head to toe.
“Activate the shields!” she ordered.
The Leader of the Order pressed his hand against the wall from where golden snakes emerged and scattered in all directions to activate the barrier intended to protect the City Hall and at the same time raise the alarm to all the wizards inside.
Zoran took a step forward, his jaw tense as he stared at the place of impact. Lightning, which previously streaked erratically across the sky, now converged in the direction of the destroyed lighthouse, forming an eerie pattern.
A column of smoke rose from the ruins and due to the action of the wind began to spread forming a dense fog that in brief moments like an impetuous blue-gray tide covered the port in its entirety and prevented them from observing what was happening on the other side of the cliff.
Rovenna's breathing became slower and deeper, trying to contain the uneasy feeling growing inside her. Her heartbeat reverberated throughout her body but when she paid closer attention she realized that these were not coming from within her but were the same slow, intense, heartbreaking pulsations that threatened to tear open the ground beneath her feet. Golden sparks of magic sizzled around them. The surrounding energy was becoming unstable.
From the window she spotted a gigantic dark shadow approaching. The pressure seemed to increase as the glowing stones illuminating the study flickered and extinguished. The room was plunged into gloom. Rovenna instinctively stepped back as the shadow approached them and then blurred into the fog in ominous silence.
But the feeling did not go away. It was as if an invisible, overwhelming force was enveloping them, a presence that pulsed with a primitive, savage rhythm, becoming more and more oppressive. The magic itself was reacting, rippling like a lake disturbed by a giant boulder.
Rovenna looked up at the ceiling, unable to ignore the certainty settling inside her.
“It's above us,” she murmured.
Before any of them could react, a blast ripped through the building, followed by an explosion that shook the foundations, as a guttural roar ripped through the air and mingled with shrieks of horror and the sound of crumbling stones that seemed to come from one end of the City Hall.
This could not be happening. It was unthinkable. The shields had been activated and that should have contained an attack of any kind, magical or not.
Without wasting any more time on conjecture, Rovenna summoned a protective shield around her that glowed like a silver flash and rushed out of the study. The halls of the building were in utter chaos: wizards and servants running in every direction, shouts of orders and warnings lost in the echoes of more explosions. The ground trembled beneath her feet, and the walls seemed about to give way and fall on her at any moment. Dust and small debris began to break loose from the ceiling, bouncing off Rovenna's shield with a dry, muffled sound.
As she moved forward, more deafening roars invaded her senses like an echo impossible to ignore. She picked up her pace, her mind working at full speed as she tried to decipher what was happening.
She rounded a corner and came to a flight of steps leading down into the inner courtyard. A smell of stone and burnt flesh mixed with the dampness of rain reached her from outside as the surge of magic in the atmosphere grew more intense, almost unbearable.
Amid the rubble of shattered fountains and destroyed arches, the magical flashes of seals revealed the silhouettes of the wizards locked in battle. Their hands rose in a frenzied dance, conjuring explosions of fire, blinding rays of light, and barriers that shimmered briefly before being dissolved. Their efforts were like raindrops in the midst of the storm that drenched them—futile against the monstrous creature dominating the center of the courtyard, its presence completely capturing Rovenna's vision.
Its leonine head, crowned by a pair of curved horns intertwined like roots, deflected magical attacks with a simple twist. The disproportionate fangs, longer than a human arm, dripped black liquid that sizzled upon hitting the ground. Its eyes, pools of molten fire surrounded by a pulsing halo, scanned the battlefield with an intensity that made even the most experienced wizards falter.
A Master raised his arms and unleashed a shockwave that thundered through the air, but the creature retaliated with a sweep of its massive wings—tattered membranes resembling those of a bat. The motion created a searing whirlwind that sent nearby wizards flying into the debris. Some rose awkwardly, bleeding from open gashes on their faces and arms, while others lay unconscious amidst the wreckage.
When a group of wizards attempted to flank it, the chimera reacted with impossible speed for its size. Its massive forepaw slammed down onto the stone, and its claws tore through the tiles that still clung to the ground. Stones flew like projectiles, and those wizards who failed to react in time suffered shattered bones and torn flesh.
The beast's tail, a grotesque abomination ending in a stinger oozing what appeared to be venom, lashed out like a living whip. One wizard tried to evade it, but the quick, snapping motion struck him squarely. The substance sizzled upon contact with his robes, burning through to reveal charred, smoking flesh. His scream of agony rang out, and the other wizards instinctively recoiled at the sight of the spreading burns, which crept like shadows across his body.
Rovenna watched, frozen, as Zoran ran past her, followed by another group of wizards taking the place of those retreating, exhausted and injured, with their robes torn and soaked in blood; some clutched broken arms or limped with difficulty, their faces bearing the marks of fatigue and despair.
With a war cry, Zoran formed an orb of dark energy between his hands, its crackling intensity menacing. He charged toward the creature, hurling the attack with all his might. But even before the sphere reached the beast, Rovenna knew it would be useless. The impact left nothing more than a faint scorch mark on the scales and spines that armored the creature like an intricate metallic shell.
The monster responded with an earth-shaking roar, so powerful it caused the ground to tremble once more. A section of the City Hall collapsed, and a blinding cloud of dust engulfed them all.
Through the chaos, Rovenna could still hear the creature's every breath, a deep, guttural growl that reverberated throughout the courtyard. Amid the dust, its fiery eyes glowed, locking onto her.
Another shiver ran down her spine.
That was something which had no place in the human world. A creature never seen before at least in centuries.
The books spoke of it as a legend: a war machine forged by giants to battle elves and hybrids in ancient times. And now, there it was—alive, blazing, majestic.
A chimera in its original form.
Silas.