2 Being King is Complicated (Second part)

Five months earlier, Magnus sought Afonso with fervent excitement. During the reconstruction of Bruma, a commoner worker happened to discover a chest with ancient Eternal scrolls buried. The worker took them to the parish priest, who, so perplexed by what he saw in them, left on horseback to Libra that very day.

Magnus also recognized the scrolls as something remarkable the moment he saw them. They were old, so old that the eternal text they contained, a previous, arcane form of the language, was almost incomprehensible even by the wisest priests. But what they were able to translate froze Magnus's blood and excited him so much that he could barely keep his hands from shaking. The scrolls spoke of powers even older than them. Of enchantments and rituals that could alter the shape of the flesh, create new life from the old. The power to transform any man

mem that dominated you in a god.

It took months for Magnus and his more experienced scholars to decipher the text of all twelve scrolls. When his work was finally finished, Magnus took him to Libra and presented it to his king as a way to finally guarantee peace for all Albanian kingdoms - to annihilate the Southern threat once and for all. When Afonso heard the archbishop's promise that he could do all that without spilling a single drop of blood from his people, he was intrigued; and when he learned how Magnus intended to do it, he did not know if it was a reason to be terrified or simply to think that the man was crazy.

It took a demonstration by Magnus to prove to his king that his mental faculties had not abandoned him.

Magnus ordered one of his servants to bring a pig already separated from the castle's creations. Afonso and everyone at court that day had fun, at first, when he saw the pig tied dragging the unfortunate servant by the belt while sniffing the stone floor. Was it some kind of mockery? At best, thought Afonso, Magnus might be ashamed of himself before the entire royal court. Which would give Afonso the perfect excuse to quietly remove the man from his post in the Church and replace him with someone less dull. The poor man had obviously worked hard. It was time.

The curservente threw a half-eaten apple in front of the pig and walked away,

while the animal devoured the fruit. Few noticed the look of pale dread on the young priest's face when he withdrew; all eyes were on the pig, an ordinary animal running free through the highest of the halls.

While the pig chewed greedily, Magnus warned the royal guards to stay close and ready, then threw his arms back in a flourish. The courtiers exchanged embarrassed looks; some of them giggled. It is enough to finish him off, thought Afonso from his throne. The primate of the whole Albaran waving his arms like a jester, performing a conjuring trick.

And then Magnus started the spell. The giggles stopped,

as well as the fun looks. All eyes were fixed on Magnus

while he babbled ancient words deciphered in the Church.

The language was familiar, but still strange. What is that, some kind of Eternal accent? Afonso wondered. There was only one certainty: while

Magnus continued the spell, his flight slowly rising, a chill over the hall. Although no one understood the words, each man and woman somehow knew that there was something wrong with them. As if they came from a place that wasn't human

Bro. Several of those who attended felt a strong desire to leave the hall, and yet their feet did not take them away. They were rooted, paralyzed, unable to turn their faces.

The pig, who was happily devouring the apple, suddenly released it. The mouth opened wide. The head turned and spun in a strange circular motion, as if tortured by a hellish sound that only he could hear. He released the most horrendous and sharp squeak and fell on his side,

standing still.

For a moment, the hall was filled with dark silence, everyone present speechless in front of the bizarrely morbid sample. Magnus had apparently killed the animal without getting his hands on it. Only with the power of words.

That led Afonso to break the silent silence.

"I demand to know what that means ..."

The pig screamed louder than before, interrupting Afonso's words. Then the body shuddered and came back to life, writhing on the floor with a series of violent spasms.

Postmortem reflexes? Afonso looked from the tortured animal to Magnus and saw the wide smile spread across the archbishop's face.

As if he was delighted to anticipate what would come next.

Something burst from the pigs' belly and blood splashed across the floor.

Several onlookers screamed, terrified, and those who were closest would turn away, nauseated, when another excrescence sprouted from the body of the body, then another, each glowing with blue-green blood, the blood was dark and slimy while unfolded and took shape. Puffy appendages with joints, similar to phalluses, reminding members of some perverted monstrosities of a thousand years ago, slipped and slid across the smooth stone floor like the legs of a newborn calf or deer trying to rise.

And then the thing - it could no longer be called a pig - rose on its six newly formed legs, each with thick, goose hair. The creature's jaw hung wide, revealing a mouthful of pointed, sharp fangs. The royal guards drew their weapons, and Afonso saw fascination and curiosity as the creature advanced. Wild, bloodshot eyes, scanning the room. The creature looked half-blind and seized by a rabid fever.

The beast lifted its head, opened its huge mouth and howled - a frightening sound that defied nature and sent chills through everyone present. The young, immature guard who was closest to the beast moved to strike it with his sword. Before Magnus could alert him, the guard's blade descended on one of the beast's arachnid legs, releasing a stream of green blood that covered his tunic. When the beast screamed, the guard tried to release the blade to deliver another blow, but it was trapped in the bone and cartilage of the monster's leg. Wounded and enraged, the swine monstrosity spun and snatched the sword from the guard's hand. Before he could walk away, the beast moved forward and wrapped the two front legs around the man's waist like tweezers.

While the young man struggled in despair, his colleagues came to his aid, trying to free him from the creature's clutches, and still others beat him with swords. The screams of the beast and the prison guard were mixed in a hellish cacophony. Then the creature's claws narrowed further, and the young guard vomited blood when his body was split in two. The beast got rid of the man's lifeless halves, trying to defend himself from the other guards, who were lashing and furiously striking him. But it was too late: the creature had several serious injuries and was bleeding very quickly. Weakened and dying, she finally fell, panting, blood bubbling in her throat. The captain of the guard approached, his sword high, and with all his strength he slashed the monster's head off with a blow. For a few moments, the thing continued to move, the chest rising and falling, the arachnid legs twitching in reflex. And finally, he got stuck in a pool of his own blood.

With his face spattered with the beast's blood, the captain of the guard glared at Magnus. Afonso came down from the throne and crossed the room towards the priest, who had not stopped smiling throughout the bloody episode, and was still smiling !!

"Didn't you like the demonstration, my lord?" Asked the archbishop.

"I didn't like it," hissed the king through clenched teeth and fists.

Magnus's smile got even wider.

"Southerners will like it even less, I suppose, Your Majesty."