Twice I warned Vala, the king of songs, my husband. Twice he wouldn't listen. I loved him but I had my pride. So this is this situation you see now. And nay they'll speak of I, Viktora as the cause of the winter wars and they'll forget what Alford, his Highvoid hounds and the pig priest did at Patci._______
From winter wars remembered.
Arc seven; Brewing storm
Ancestors
The beasts roared as the Dragon house fired attacks at them. The monsters had
the students surrounded but could not gain anything from the exchange. That's because the strength of those in the Dragon house was number one in the academy. People like Sean Bridgewort, Betty Lace, Jud Soot and now Rea and Scars are among the elite of their years. All in the top ten in the ranking board of their year.
Rea had the trees in the woods grow thorny branches that pierced the beasts, killing some and preventing others from avoiding the mages attacks. Beams and energy of different colors landed on them devastating them. Their sorrowful roars drowned by the students cheers.
Deep within the forest the spirits appeared, floating in the air. They looked like translucent humans but had wings on their backs. This is supposed to be the point where the spirits backed the beasts with magic and turn the tables on the humans, but unfortunately Rea wouldn't have that. She grew thousands of vines in the forest, her eyes closed, she could only see with the plants. When she was done most of the spirits were dead, and those that remained quickly fled, abandoning their beast henchmen.
Rea finally opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a multiple legged boar like winged beast that slip through the student wall and was flying at her. It fell off the sky the next moment though as if plucked down by an invincible hand as Scars put an arrow through its forehead. Rea gave Scars an appreciative nod then gave the battleground a calculative look before stirring her horse and reigning it away.
Scars soon caught up to her on her own horse falling beside her. It was as if the archer could read her mind she asked. "Are you sure about this?'
Rea glanced at her. "I'm, I think it's the wise thing,"
"Okay, but I don't want to be named a demon or anything,"
"Don't worry, I trust her,"
The two rode up the highway together, at both sides of them the other dorm mates were still fighting the horde of monsters. Though nothing life threatening so far so Rea didn't care to intervene. Like them Mercy Vist was not fighting, she sat atop her horse peering into the woods. Rea didn't blame her, after all she's a Reader and her only importance is information. She was a chubby girl with straight black hair that fell to her back, and wore a black silk dress as if she was attending a banquet not on a journey.
"Hey Mercy," Rea called as she and Scars closed the distance.
The Reader turned to them, her blue eyes glassy. "Sister Rea, what do I owe the honor?"
"We are traveling together can't I come and greet you?"
"I guess you can, so you have no ulterior motive?"
"Calling it ulterior motive is going too far right? But I do need your help,"
"I knew it," Mercy said frowning.
Rea was not surprised by the nobles behavior; though she was sad because of it. They had grown up in the same city; Rea in the church of enlightened while Mercy in the castle of Tarin. Being the same age with one of the girls the hope of the church and the other the genius daughter of the feif lord, they naturally met many times. But since the first day they met, Mercy had never liked her. It was not like the noble girl caused her any harm but she had always wanted Rea no where close to her as if the church girl carried a stink with her.
It saddens Rea, at times rankled her, at other times down right irritated her to no end. But there was nothing she could do about it. "It's about Scars, can you get a read of her and tell me if anything is wrong?" Rea finally asked.
Mercy lifted an eyebrow then shrugged and turned to Scars. Her eyes changed no color as she regarded the clone for some time. "I see nothing besides..... There's a thread that links her to someplace south. It that what you mean?"
Rea frowned. "How far south?"
"Don't know," Mercy stared at the direction then back at the two. "It could be as far as Swornhalf or V'alkre or the edge of the Rag plains for all I know."
"There's nothing more?"
"There's not, if there was I would have told you sister Rea," Mercy sighed.
"Fine. Thank you," Rea muttered then motioned to Scars and they left together.
"It seems it was as we suspected," Scars said after they were back out of ear shot.
Rea glanced behind her then nodded. They had soon noticed that everyone possessed was connected to Swornhalf region. Nuni was the adopted daughter of the Woodtalks who were vassals of the Swornhalfs, Kara is a orphaned girl taking in by the guild of merchants, while Scars is the daughter of the Swornhalfs. All things pointed at a conspiracy that the Swornhalfs were in.
Now it's only to get the time and go to Swornhalf to investigate everything herself.
There are rare times when Jack Highvoid feels content about everything. As he studied the map before him he realized this was not one of those times. He had a hunger to conquer at this moment, to gain dominion over everything. It has been a life long ambition of his to bring the whole of the main continent of Aliye under Crystalis. He'd not Care much about lording over them afterwards, he noticed, but it's the job well done he wanted.
Almost five months now his war with Hnarve had lasted. It was a practical war, the hardest of wars, the war not driven by justice. At least not on his side. That's the problem, the Narvers has the powerful hand of emotion behind them, spurning them on even in dark times. But Jack's army just had their cruelty and philosophy to depend on. Not that those two could be underestimated when it came to men, but it does not have the same strength as vengeance and hate and desperation.
That's why this five months were important: Jabar once said you cannot win a war of this scale in a few months but you can definitely lose it.
"You let a weapon fall into your enemy's hand, I am quiet curious why,"
Jake lifted his head from his table to the old man sitting in the other side of the room. The man was old that his hair had turned white, his eyes were blue like most Highvoids; he wore a black coat and kept fiddling with the amulet in his hands. Jack wondered what in the three realms the artifact was, but hey, he couldn't ask could he? When it comes to the Highvoids everything is a scheme and nothing is a game. If Jack asks the man a question now he gains something and losses something, but since he wasn't sure what he'll gain and lose, he didn't ask. That's because the man sitting on the couch was someone even he can't touch, at least not openly, this man is one of the Highvoid ancestors.
The Highvoids ancestors are old monsters that defied death by using a secrete technique to extend their life but said technique requires sleeping for years to add even a pinch of life force to them. They'll wake up after centuries and cause trouble for a small amount of time before going back to sleep.
Jack regarded the man then mulled over the question. He stood up and walked to the window, staring out at the desert city of Bea iiz, a city in the border between Chyralis and Ijer of Hnarve. "You mean Saint?" He asked even though he knew the answer.
"Who would I mean? Sain?" The old man chuckled at his jest.
"He's under the royal academy's protection,"
"Like that'll stop you. I am curious, you the devil incarnate. You don't care to avenge Kaa... Whatever that kid he sparked called,"
"Kyle,"
"Yeah him. You let him go the first time didn't you? You know the rules Jack. He dies for what he did,"
Jack looked back at the man, his expression was stony and unchanged. "I had no hand in his escape or his mother's tricks Baron Joe. I rule this family fairly but it's your side of the family that always lunches baseless accusations."
Joe burst out in laugher suddenly. "Well said Jack, but we want assurances. It did not go unnoticed by us that Veish spoke to him and he demanded to challenge for family head, family head! The runt, who's putting ideas into his head?! He's lucky to be even alive!"
Jack narrowed his eyes dangerously. This ancestor is from Sin's side of the family and only wishes for his side to rule the family. "What assurances?" Jack asked coldly.
"That you'll leave it in our hands, no interfering. We can slay the runt ourselves, say can it be any harder than a pig?"
"Fine," Jack nodded. "But I will have Viesh observe. If you fail thrice then he's my heir, I can't find another young Highvoid that can escape death like him."
Joe looked amused. As if they told him a bug could escape his boot. "Oh, only if he defeats the others even after,"
"Deal?"
"Deal,"
And they wrote it in blood.
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