Standing in the middle of a room decorated with portraits of young men, young women, middle‑aged men, and middle‑aged women, Sorin was surrounded by six figures sitting on high‑back chairs behind a table that ran around the entire room except for the path leading to the entrance and exit.
Having greeted the elders, he listened as they questioned him regarding Vlad.
"What practices did Vlad Herak carry out during the last few years?" the patriarch of the Radex coven, a middle‑aged man with a wide forehead, brown wavy hair, and brown eyes, inquired.
"Due to his inability to practice magic, Vlad spent most of his time seeking any information on how to awaken his magic, a circumstance that led him to research dark and extinct magic." Saying all this in one breath, Sorin calmed himself before continuing.
"But with the disadvantage of not having magic, he couldn't perform the spells or get corrupted by their negative energies, leaving him with just a high level of knowledge concerning extinct and dangerous spells, their runic symbols, and incantations."
"I did warn you to stop him and seal away the knowledge he acquired after he showed no desire to slow down on his quest for the dark arts." With silver hair braided all the way to the back, Miara Yahru turned toward Sheria Harek, monarch of the Harek Coven.
"He was just a child struggling to revive his hope for practicing magic. I couldn't take that away from him, not when he's the only one who can save his mother after she was shunned from practicing witchcraft." Also wearing braids, Sheria's black hair was decorated with a couple of beads as she defended herself.
"To be able to affect the barrier set up by our ancestors, he must have performed a very dangerous kind of magic, one capable enough to even corrupt our magic," Barton Edwuth, regent of the witchcraft lineage, added.
"Successfully causing a reaction, he must have used his blood as the source. Ruthless and determined, a dangerous combination for a child to possess," Eli Turdo, blind and surprisingly elderly, remarked.
"Sorin Harek, you will be placed under strict observation for a period of ten days to avoid any possible problems that may arise due to your interactions with Vlad Harek." Barton Edwuth looked at Sorin as he voiced the command.
"As you command, Regent." Sorin saluted, acknowledging the order as a law enforcer took him away.
After Sorin was taken away, Sheria asked, "What happens if Vlad returns and seeks to pass through the barrier?"
"He dies." With no room for discussion, Barton declared, delivering Vlad's death sentence.
"Isn't that going too far?" Unwilling to see Vlad killed, Sheria questioned.
"Not at all. From the moment he successfully performed a dark magic spell without any magic, the Vlad you knew died, leaving nothing but an empty shell housing nothing but endless madness–a monster that must be eradicated from the face of the realm." Speaking in place of Barton, Eli Turdo responded to Sheria, a hint of dread contained in his words.
…
"They're tied." Spectating the spar between Vlad and Zayxehr, the rebels around them were amazed at the prowess of the new blood.
"A witchcraft practitioner isn't to be trifled with."
"I wonder how they lost the war against us."
"What we came to know might not really be the truth. As it's said, history is written by the victors."
"I can't believe we are tied when my magic is clearly more than yours." Breathing a bit heavily, Zayxehr stared at Vlad.
"Who said we are tied?" Invoking a blade of glass with an incantation, Vlad carved a runic symbol on the back of his palm, enduring the pain he was all too familiar with.
"Dark magic!" Taking a step backward, Zayxehr stared in shock as Vlad tore through his skin without an atom of hesitation in his eyes.
"Do you admit defeat, or do you wish to continue?" With a grin on his face, Vlad's blood boiled as it dripped to the ground, emitting steam into the air.
"Are you mad? Why would you ever practice dark magic?" Unable to understand Vlad's mindset, Zayxehr rebuked him.
"Don't be so rigid in your thinking, Zayxehr. Every magic is meant to be practiced, just not by everyone." Expressing his philosophy, Vlad asked once again, "Do you accept defeat, or do you wish to continue?"
"You're insane!" Neutralizing her wind slide, Zayxehr admitted defeat, backing out of the spar with Vlad.
"Seems I'm the winner." Halting his magic from supporting the runic symbol on the back of his palm, Vlad's blood no longer contained its acidic characteristic. Staggering a bit after stopping his magic, he chuckled as he regained his footing.
"Practicing dark magic–doesn't he know that every usage of dark magic brings one closer to corruption? And if unlucky, one's first attempt could be their last." The spectators discussed among themselves as they stared at Vlad.
Retreating as Vlad walked toward her, Zayxehr exercised caution, afraid that Vlad would lose control to corruption and attack her.
"And here I thought that you could manage my attitude." A weak smile on his face, Vlad shook his head, a bit sad at Zayxehr's response to his use of dark magic.
"Not when dark magic is involved. I can't manage what might lead to not only your corruption but the destruction of everything I hold dear." Exercising caution, Zayxehr rested her thumb on the page of her grimoire containing a defensive runic symbol.
"It won't come to that." Healing the injury on the back of his palm, Vlad kept moving as he left the combat ground, heading back to his tent.
.
Standing at an obscure location some distance from the combat ground, Elysia observed Vlad for a couple more seconds before submerging into the shadow beneath him.
Her black hair flowing down her back with a tint of red at its rim, Hayteyr listened to the information provided by Elysia, her face turning serious at the mention of dark magic.
"Corruption is present even in the magic we label Orthodox. Going further and practicing dark magic–he's freely handing himself over to be corrupted."
"From what I've seen, he's okay. No sign of corruption or madness, just a bit of craziness in how he treats his body." His face hidden under his cloak, Elysia spoke up for Vlad.
"My mom and the other leaders would have learned of Vlad's flaw by now. A meeting to decide how he will be dealt with won't be far off." Sitting with her right leg crossed over her left, Hayteyr moved her upper body forward as she picked up the book on the table in front of her.
"I'll be going now." Giving himself up to the shadows, Elysia was swallowed up, leaving just the shadow of the table and that of Hayteyr.
Opening to the last page she had read, Hayteyr focused as she continued, reading in her mind rather than out loud.
Gradi Gardi Harek became a Baron of Magic at 13, a Viscount of Spells at 15, an Earl of Incantations at 21, a Marquess of the Orthodox Arts at 33, a Duke of Arcane Knowledge at 50, a Prince of the Seventh Dimension at 108, and a Grand Duke of the Mystical World at 230.
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