Magical Anchorage
"You seem to have advanced faster than I thought in a matter of hours!" Takada sounds delighted at this point with Gurudza's advancement.
Gurudza just turns to look at her and continues to practice using magic. Everything seems to be going well in gaining control but Takada is not much help in training to use it in combat and to him at this point it is frustrating. But even so, there is nothing to do except train on his own to control the elements.
Takada rises from where she is seated and gets closer to Gurudza with her hands behind her back.
"I know I am not much or even of any help but I think I can assist you with a few techniques my husband used to fight using, for example, the lightning spirit spear! Whereby he created a lightning spear from the lightning magic and since that is your main attribute, you should be able to do a much stronger one!"
"Really?"
"Yes, and it caused him a lot of physical stress!"
"Okay, how do I do that? Because so far, I can barely shape out a tiny spear!"
"Yes, yes, you are right the fastest way for you to be able to do that is to learn to infuse your lightning on a weapon! Control your lightning to mimic the shape of your spear."
"I read in the book that I can just reinforce my weapons with lightning but it does not say anything about making the magic mimic anything."
"Actually, I just thought of that right now! Maybe it will work or maybe it won't."
"Let me try that and see if it will work, I will start by learning to infuse it first and then later on what you said."
Takada is relieved and grateful that Gurudza is willing to take his suggestion so she gets back and watches him as he practices. For a second allaying her suggestion to him she thought she was inane and way over her head.
The way his body is handling the magical strains shows he is habituate to the harsh training and he keeps pushing himself for some time without letting off. Takada rises from the ground and hobble towards him.
"I think that is enough for today, young prince! You need to get some rest and if you overdo it, it might take days for you to recover and be able to use your body again!"
"This is not time for me to worry about my body, it has to endure with me so I can fight that demon or witch or whatever it is!" he says as he continues to push.
"I also want her out of my daughter and I want my other daughter to be freed from her spell but you need to rest and regain control of your body and be able to train with a freshly rested body. These processes need patience!" she advises him but hoping he listens and stops so they can leave and rest.
"I guess, you have a point there. My magic feels flimsy at the moment and my body muscles are starting to ache."
"Thank you! We will return tomorrow and continue."
Her eyes are scanning his body and it does not seem to be weary. Even the training has not managed to enfeeble him that much and in her head, she is still wondering why? Although his magical attribute is different from his father's, he seems to have the same physiology like him although weaker.
The two pack up their belongings and head out of the Magical Anchorage for home.
Alabaster Weald
The leader of the white witches of Alabaster Weald had left Mukura alone in the room after hearing that Gwanhoya has returned and to make matters worse she is a demon rather than just a powerful witch she was before she was executed. In the enchanted forest, the stories of Gwanhoya have been passed down from generation to generation and all of them new of the potential danger she posed because of their lineage.
In her head, everything is now starting to make sense, why she did send Mukura to kill them. But even so, this massacre served another purpose other than vengeance upon her enemies' descendants.
The execrable witch who the magicians helped capture and execute. Even with her power, this is a battle she cannot win. Even though she has not met or tested her power on someone similar and this is greatly exasperating her. And her people are just there watching in terror and confusion for this is the first time they have seen her in this kind of state.
Lightning strikes in front of her and a boy in the golden robe appears with his hands behind his back looking up at her. Time stops flowing freezing everything and everyone except for her! She startles and gets back a few steps.
"M, my lord," she stammers bowing down.
"I can see the girl made her way to you!" the boy speaks with a smile on his face.
"Yes, my Lord, she is in my guest room resting! Would you like me to call her here for you?"
"That will not be necessary! I am here to speak to you about her being here and about her leaving!" he looks down and turns to look another way, "Send the girl back to the demon! For if you shelter her here for too long, the demon will come and destroy everything here ..."
"But Lord, why should I abandon her?" He turns to look at her annoyed by her cutting him short.
"I had not finished speaking yet!" the boy returns his gaze forward away from Genteel, "The girls destiny is at hand and she must face it alongside the other one who she was pre destined to share her destiny with," he continues after being cut, "But you need to take precautions and make sure that you will not face the fate that you will be trying to escape while you send her away!" the boy concludes and returns his eye attention on Genteel.
Genteel puts her hand forward, "If I may ask my Lord, what precautions am I to take?"
"Memory cloaking! Do not erase any of her memories or it will be déjà vu all over again, but rather hide them from Gwanhoya and give her new memories to satisfy the demon! The girl has a path I set for her that she needs to follow and although your heart is in the right place by wanting to protect her but keeping her hear will only doom you, her and your people!"
"Of course, my lord!" she bows down her head one last time and the boy vanishes and time continues to flow again.
Genteel, her sullen facial expression has disappeared replaced by a new one that is much better, she rushes back into her home. But on the way to where Mukura is, she decides not to tell her about everything but send her away after doing what she has been told.
She lays eyes on the little girl she adores and the strength to send her away is beginning to fade. She gets closer, sit beside Mukura and hugs her.
"As much as I would love to keep you here safe with me, I will have to send you away so that you can protect them out there. That is where your destiny is!" sobs softly dropping tears, "Let me do for you a spell of protection!"
Genteel quickly grasps that Mukura might know a lot of spells and might recognise a memory cloak spell and a dream memory spell and become suspicious.
"Wait here for me!" Genteel instructs her while she releases her so she can leave the room.
"Is everything alright?" Mukura asks after perceiving her wiping off tears from her eyes.
Genteel turns with red eyes and checks with crudely wiped tears, "Yes, I am! I just have something in my eye."
"Ummm, both your eyes are red and your cheeks are watery!"
"I think it just got contagious, that is all! Otherwise I am alright!" she smiles and makes haste to prepare before Mukura throws another question of doubt.
"She is terrible at lying!"
Mukura waits for Genteel patiently on the bed. Thinking about everything that might be going on outside the protective barrier.
"Oookay, this is it!" Genteel comes in with three cups in the tray, "I think this will do the trick!"
"Hear drink these two first," she pushes forward the cups with the portions, "And drink this one lastly so you can get some rest."
"But I thought you said I have to leave."
"I did but I did not say when now, did I?"
"No, you did not." Mukura calms down.
"I thought so too, now drink up and get some rest!"
"Okay, thank you ma'am! I wish to repay your kindness one day."
"Do not sweat it! There is no need for you to repay anything, my child! You just need to keep surviving," she puts her hand on Mukura's head and smiles, "Now, drink up and take a rest."
Genteel takes her leave and Mukura drinks and sleep.
She is happy to see her again after all this time and sad she is sending her away this early without spending some time with her. She stops looks back straight at the door with emotional eyes.
"It is very strange and chilling, she looks like you when you were at that age and with her wearing that robe, she looks exactly like you at that age Genteel!" Catherine speaks coming in from the front door.
"What are you talking about?" Genteel wipes her tears asking Catherine who laughs at this point.
"You know what I am talking about, my friend!"
"I do not want her to die, Cat! Why can't she just stay here and be safe!"
"Every mo...." Genteel rushes over to shut her mouth.
"I know!" Genteel walks back to the room where Mukura is sleeping and Catherine follows, "It frustrates me that I cannot do anything to get her out of this goddamn prophecy or destiny! Whatever it is called."
"You must not utter such words from your mouth Genteel, for you know even with your power you are still tiers below that of a god!"
"But that does not give them the right to do whatever they want with us!"
"He showed himself to you again didn't he? The young god?"
"Yes, he did!"
"That explains the emotional state and also, why did you not tell me that he is here so I can see him too!"
"He froze time again and everything around."
"I guess nothing has changed with these gods, after all they are gods and do not change always have a favourite human." Jealousy is resounding in her voice and she sighs, "So, tell me what is going on and why did she kill all those people?"
Genteel moves closer to Mukura, "She came here under the influence of Gwanhoya!"
Catherine laughs, "Gwanhoya? Come on, Gwanhoya is a myth!" she continues laughing staring straight at Genteel's face.
"Gwanhoya is not a myth and she send Mukura here and the one who you saw floating outside the barrier that is Gwanhoya, who possessed and mutated Monalisa's body!"
Catherine slowly stops laughing upon hearing this and seeing how serious Genteel is. She gets closer to Mukura and Genteel.
"If that creature that came today is Gwanhoya, then you do not have to let her leave this place, she is safer here!"
"Apparently, if she stays here she will not be safe! She will die along with all of us. But if she leaves she will be able to fulfil her destiny and I still do not know what that is yet."
"And you are going to send her out to a doomed world according to a gods' whims?"
"We are part of that world Catherine! Do you not see that? If the outside world falls, we fall too, the demon will find us." she gets up from Mukura's side, "Besides do you not see that she is different from us! Her power feels warm and also inhuman but in a soothing way." She continues in a soft voice, "If there is one who can stop the end of this world, I will put my faith in her!"
"You are sacrificing her, for a world that does not deserve her!"
"You are wrong, my friend and I shall not put the ills of a few upon the heads of the blameless!" she smiles looking at Catherine who is demented by her willing to let Mukura out into the world again, "Let me, let you in on a few secrets my friend! Divine is blessed with more than one magical attribute. If not all of them but unlike us. Which is why she will be the one to save us all."
"I see, that is why you are now calming down as you speak and just a few moments ago were you not afraid of letting her leave?"
"Do not get me wrong. I am terrified about that but there is nothing I can do! And I have a duty to my people also."
"I still do not get you, but I hope you are right and that you will not regret it later!"
"I will not, I know she will get through it! Let us call it a night now shall we? I am feeling sleepy now."
"Alright then, let me head back home. I shall see you tomorrow!"
Catherine leaves Genteel's home.