Chapter 28: 28: The Witch and her (Former) Familiar

Aldrius sat on his throne.

As the debonair and genteel lords and ladies either danced or made light conversation below him, he felt like he was miles away.

Such simple people could never bear the weight he did. Even Lancell, his very own heir, dancing like a fool before a duke’s wife, caused him concern about the future of the kingdom.

Of his life’s work.

On one hand, he was grateful to provide a time of peace and carelessness to his people. But on the other, it was something he rarely got to partake in himself and was unsure if anyone could step in to continue to ensure the future of.

With a sigh, he looked to his sides. His retinue continued to shrink as the years sped by, first Martinet, then Samuel, then Merle and finally Brutus. And those were only after the most recent war. The dwindling resources he had for leadership would soon bear its own fruit, one who’s seeds could very well sprout over the rest of the kingdom.

“Your lordship?”

Aldrius clicked out of his daze, looking at the young man. Armed in the king’s personal armor, he appeared more noble than the king even did. If he had that boy’s youth then he would-!

“Apologies, I was just lamenting the loss of some of my Shroud…” Samuel would have hated it here, but Martinet and Merle would just be glad to be out in public for once.

The young man smiled back once more, all his teeth were present, “Of course, your lordship. This would be a very different party if some of those passed were still around.”

The woman beside Aldrius spat.

He had tried to love Brunhe, a negotiation from one of the allegiances formed. But every day she seemed to make it harder and harder, a challenge she undertook every day since they first met. “That Merle is a schemer, let him rot with the rest of that church.”

Having spent years under her thumb, the King of Altalour had grown quite skilled at subtly rolling his eyes when she was not looking.

“Unfortunate that the rivers of time choose not only to erode away the stones beneath our feet, but at our very lives as well…” With Alzahett undergoing it’s winter season, the most recent snowfall was nearly as tall as a dwarven man, something that would have repercussions once spring arrived.

“Yes,” the young man started, his eyes glazed over, presumably looking towards a future Aldrius would never be privy to, “but those very rivers give us life. They give us a means to build a means to better this life as well.”

The king was more restrained than his wife. Who was this whelp spouting platitudes?

Slumping further in his seat, he shifted his gaze back to the crowds beneath him. He wondered if the God Emperors in the days of yore had to sit through such boring parties. One thing was for sure, they most assuredly did not have punks attempting to offer advice to them.

His mind took him away from the uninspired people below.

There were a few people a king could trust. His hard work, his well deserved power earned from a pile of corpses drew in flies, hungry to feast on the sacrifices necessary so no man had to raise a sword as he did. A man with such power was like Most played lip service to accomplish their own selfish goal or to pay off debtors that managed to catch them.

But Merle was an exception.

Already a Bishop upon joining with Aldrius to unite Alzahett under Altalour’s flag, the man wanted little and needed less. His jovial attitude was a candle in the darkness, a rallying banner to bring people together regardless of their creed. He shunned titles and fame, finding his enjoyment in his own lived experiences.

But what he had been proposing these past two years? Preposterous.

However, they had accomplished a preposterous goal before. Nearly uniting the 12 warring kingdoms, currently just two short, had only been achieved back during the era of the God Emperors.

An era they wished to bring back.

“My king?”

The voice brought Aldrius back to his dull reality once more. Looking down from the throne once more, all the party guests were nowhere to be found. All the tables were cleaned and were being put away once more until the next sordid affair.

“My lord, you seem to have fallen asleep amidst the festivities. Shall I take you to your room to retire for the night?” The young man showed genuine concern, his expression like manure to the elderly monarch.

Incredulously trying to piece the sudden shift in reality, Aldrius scratched his balding scalp, dry and wrinkled with age. “That… Might be for the best.” Such occurrences were growing more and more frequent.

“Right away, sir. I shall call for the chambermaids to prepare.”

Finding himself alone in the ballroom, the King of Altalour silently wept. He needed to act quickly, lest the kingdom will fall.

The sweet scent of flowers filled the space, even something Aldrius’ failing senses could unmistakingly pick up. Sounds of high heeled shoes drew closer to the man. “There is no need for tears, my king,” a voice called sweetly, “we are working diligently to accomplish your goals, for you are the only one who can truly save the world…”

He refused to lift his head and meet her gaze. He lost himself when speaking to this woman. “Please…” He muttered.

“Oh, my dear Aldrius, I will personally see to-”

“No!” The old man shouted, hoping to scare off the intruder, “Leave me! Depart from me foul devil!”

Going back to Bila’s house to pick up one specific thing, Sara returned to the Abraj Al Bait tower to await for The Eternal’s return to claim her reward.

Tempted as she was to explore the town below with this new boon, she remained in her room, not willing to take the chance if the spell had a short duration or some other sort of drawback.

Instead, she opted to continue to ponder over the tome gifted to her by the Sage and the sphere given to her by the witch.

Both were strange.

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Never in her past life was she given such esoteric items and were expected to figure out what to do with them.

A sword had a singular purpose. A shield was the answer to that purpose. And along with the ability to lead those who wielded them, those are what gave Samuel purpose.

As her eyes began to sink along with the sun behind the horizon, a faint knock alighted across her doors. Saying something in elvish, she took it to mean The Eternal had finally returned and was ready to detail the results of her actions. Leaving the book and tucking the sphere away in her pocket, she was ready to head out the door.

- - - -

“The plan worked flawlessly, Succubus Sarakiel!” The masked man clapped his hands together. Echoing through the study in which her dress was made, it felt strangely empty without the gaggle of elves or Mujad.

Sara tilted her head, “You mean it took all day for the hearing to be called off?”

Kicking back in his chair once more, The Eternal nodded, the beak of his bird mask exaggerating his head movement, “Of course, that’s how elven politics work! We awaited Bila’s return for six hours and then spent the next four planning on when to reconvene.”

The succubus shook her head. She might have done the world a favor by removing one more exhaustive cog from the world’s most inefficient machine.”So what was the hearing even about? It sounded like they were getting ready to spit roast you and throw you over an open fire…”

A silence overtook the room.

“Never you mind, Sarakiel. It’s none of your concern.” The masked man was cold in his response. Sara felt a slight betrayal, but ultimately, she decided it truly was none of her business.

“Now, as a matter of-”

The Eternal’s voice was cut off. Almost like shattering glass, a loud sound filled Sara’s ears as she felt as if she was being forcefully pulled backwards.

She felt cold as the study flew away before her as she was consumed by an all-encompassing darkness, reminding her of the time she died. As her mind began to recognize the sudden shift, a booming voice filled the space.

“Succubus Sarakiel, as your master, I demand an explanation of your betrayal. So says your master, Ashara Dulanares.”

The command was simple, yet took a moment to register with Sara. “What betrayal?” She screamed, the dragging sensation growing faster towards some destination behind her.

Before she knew it, she felt a cold floor on her butt. Thankfully avoiding her tail, the sudden jolt knocked the air out of her.

“Then why was your crest tampered with?” Ashara leaned over, her face mere inches from the succubus’s.

It took a second more for Sara to realize where she suddenly found herself: the back room of the witch’s house.

A sudden fear gripped her. Her head began to hurt and her mind screamed at her to run.

“Well, succubus? Do I need to command you again?” The tiny witch meant business. Her normally chipper expression was instead furious. Something Sara still did not have the full detail of.

Pushing past her trauma, she barely managed to speak between her shortened breaths, “Wh-what do you mean? I haven’t done anything!”

Forcefully lifting the comfortable clothes Sara had put on before reporting to The Eternal, the pink sigil that alighted on her lower stomach had changed it’s shape.

The normally complex series of lines and shapes denoting her contract as a familiar to the witch had instead become simple. A pink circle with no filigree, no array nor any significance was found instead. It continued to glow with the familiar light, but had fundamentally changed outside of that.

“Who did this?” Ashara demanded. “Who did you speak with to do this? Was it your teacher? Answer me, succubus.”

It took another moment for Sara to figure out what she was being accused of. She remembered the rail-thin witch tampering with her lower stomach, but never noticed how it changed shape. “I…” She stammered, “I’m sure it was the witch.”

Ashara grew closer, even more furious to the point where her face was nearly as red as the circles that dotted her cheeks, “Which. Witch?”

Normally, Sara would assume this was another wordplay her tiny master would use to be quirky or cute, but this appeared to be more of a coincidence, “Um… I don’t remember her name? She was tall, had a big overbite, and she-”

“Fuc-” The witch before her finally pulled away, turning towards the darkness beyond what they could see in the room, “Eldura.”

The witch turned back, her tiny face manic, “Always a thorn in my side! She probably thought this was a funny little game, her messing with my work! But this?” Ashara drew close once more, “But this is no game! No joke! I am personally going to ruin whatever semblance of a life she has left! A comeuppance for fiddling in powers beyond what she could even hope to imagine!”

All Sara could do was sit, her eyes forcibly held open to the events unraveling before her. She had always known The Archivist to be flippant, but this looked to be incredibly serious.

“That’s why I never received my cut of mana from you! That’s why I could never get a proper sending spell in! It sounded like that nerd’s work, but of course he probably was to stupid to understand the sheer gold I dropped in his lap! It was the perfect plan! It was all fine and dandy until somebody had to come along and throw a spanner in the plan! And now we…!”

The tiny witch grabbed Sara’s arm, “We’re going to settle the score.”

---

World notes: Swordsmen

In a world where magic can bend the very fabric of reality around any man, woman or child, one would easily ask, "why doesn't everyone just learn magic?". In addition to magical capabilities coming down largely to genetics, very few spell slingers can do much in the way of a sharpened piece of steel going around 60 miles per hour at them!

Not only is the sword a great equalizer between the magical and the mundane, it also builds muscle, which is terribly practical in day to day life!
No need for incantations! Forget your spell components at home! Instead of waving your hands around like a lunatic, one can train themselves in a basic, easy motion that can fell 90% of all* living creatures!

Magic easily takes 10x the amount of time to master versus a skilled weapons master, capable of felling a man in half the time! Defending yourself has never been easier!

*Please note that "all" also includes puppies, infants, fish and modestly sized vegetables

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