6 Chapter 5 - Old Friend.
The high walls surrounding the capitol were wide and long, surrounding the entire area in an unpassable barrier. Or so the magical counsel would like to believe, the wall has many holes and secrets they don't know about giving a multitude of people a way into their city of all different shapes and sizes, Meaning anyone can get in if they know how.
Endar begins walking away into he colorful forest with his companions, quickly leading them to wall covered in teal vines coated in thorns and spines. Giving Camilla sense of dread just looking at them.
"We're not seriously traipsing through all that are we?"
"Allow me" Major says, unsheathing his sword before Endar pushes his hand out and pulls it down, his eyes piercing at him through his mask.
"Sure go ahead if you want to bleed out before we even get inside" he snaps, making Major sheath his sword away, Endar bends down near a stone, lifting it to see a gorgeous gleaming pebble. Picking it up as it begins to glow with a translucent liquid gushing around inside of it, like an ocean on fire.
They all stare at in in awe, lifting it into the air near the vines as they repulse away from it, separating to give the group enough space to enter through the gap, squeezing into a closed off house away from the rest of the city.
Major looks down at hid armor with displeasure, realizing he wont fit in unless he leaves it outside, besides they would notice the colours of Caspia and its Crest. slowly slinking out of it into his regular clothes, hiding all of his armor in a patch of grass outside the vine wall.
After that was settled, they wait in the room looking out into the city from the abandoned house window, seeing the bursting streets full to the brim with different magical personalities and creatures, all of them living their daily lives as the Capitols Tower reigned over it all, similar to Caspia but on a much larger scale.
Endar's focus was on their attention, and how it could be kept on the down low, Camilla was reveling in the fact she was at the Capitol once again after her journey to get here, loving the sights and people as she remembers her first time here.
Major hated this place with a passion, and for good reason as this is where he found the hunters in the first place, they had a great hold on the city before they disappeared meaning they could recruit just anyone off the streets that didn't have money. Used purely to fulfill their dying commands of wiping all monsters from the face of the Realm. Now the city is home to said monsters.
They all had been here before, none of them admitting that, as the Capitol had a reputation for its brutality to its people, especially since the counsel had control of everything. Mages, Wizards and Warlocks come here for spells, incantations and potions, but they usually never stay too long due to the threatening atmosphere the counsel had put out.
But the people were happy as they were, The trio turn to each other looking with hopes of a plan, but nobody had anything, the only thing they had to go off was Endar's old friend.
"Where's this friend of yours?" Major asked as he looks out the window.
"We wont find him up here, the streets aren't his style"
The two look at the witch with disgusted eyes, rolling his own before explaining where is.
"No we aren't walking through the shit in the sewers, but there's a secret bar in the rat ways under the city" He says, pointing to an entrance to them nearby.
"Then lets go!" Major complains as Camilla places a hand on his soldier.
"Wait! there's something I want to do here before we continue on!" She says hoping the other two would allow her to roam the city alone.
"No offence Princess, but that idea is incredulously stupid" Endar says with a disappointed tone, crossing his arms as she looks at the ground, sad she couldn't get her way. But Major gives her a small positive boost.
"If we have time my lady, we'll do whatever you need" He said as she perks up a little, smiling at him.
"Come on, stand up I need to make sure you don't look like that, either of you" The witch says, standing as he cracks his fingers in anticipation.
The two standing next to each other as their confidence in his magic had gotten better, knowing he truly isn't out to get them, getting ready to conjure the spell.
"This isn't an easy spell...so don't mess it up with your big mouth Albert"
"Ill try" he scoffs folding his arm, the spell rushing forward from his fingers like a white smoke, spinning around the two as their clothes and appearance molds before Endar's eyes. Two completely different people standing there in their place.
They look down with shocked looks as they gaze at each other in confusion, Majors new face brightening up with a light shade of pink, Camilla had elf ears with a purple colored pair of eyes, her clothes revealing but covering everything.
Majors new body looked like stone with veins of orange spiraling in runes on his bare cobble chest, his eyes now a light with with blazing red eyes and a chiseled stone face that resembled nothing of the previous soldier.
Looking at Endar with hateful eyes.
"What am I even supposed to be?"
"You're her golem, which means you cant speak"
"This is bullshit" He whines as Endar sighs.
"This is a plan, don't like it you can wait outside" he snaps back as Major sighs regretfully, before putting on his act, staring with his lips pursed close, not saying a single word as Endar smiles behind his mask happily, taking down his hood to reveal his snow white hair.
Keeping his mask on as he looks back outside.
"Alright, now is the tricky part"
The two look at the witch with confusion as he looks dead on at the Princess in her new form, with a confident glare.
"What's the tricky part?" She asks him with worried eyes.
"Teaching you"
"To do what?"
" Your first spell-"
"What?! I cant do magic!" her voice raised as Endar puts a finger over his masked lips.
"Quiet! and yes you can, if your brother can then you will as well"
The news hitting her pretty hard as she steps down and sits on a piece of fallen roof, looking at her hand.
"I don't understand..."
"Don't worry about it Princess, I'm only going to teach you one spell that I know you can pull off, its easy...a simple light spell" Endar says calmly, reassuring her back to a confident stance.
"Ok...but I've never done anything like this in my entire life"
"Only because you didn't know, I guarantee if you did you could've been a master wizard by now"
Her worries subside as Endar's kind words touch her, standing in front of him with fierce burning eyes. Major watching them with a cautious stare, but allowing it nonetheless.
"I'm ready"
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.
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The thundering footsteps of Camus's army pushed through the Stoxwood without resistance, most of the monsters two afraid to attack the growing number of the dead. Camus sitting high on his horse as he conjures another spy glass, an incantation in tongues as it forms, looking on at multiple pale people sit at a round blood red table.
Their heads snapping up as he looks on them, smiling once they see him, approaching with hungry gazes.
"What mortal is brave enough to spy on us!" One woman shouts, showing her long fangs as they grow, dripping with anger ash she gets in front of the spying orb, Camus speaking to her through it.
"The mortal who's going to offer you the greatest deal of your lives"
They laugh at him maliciously, peering into the glass with amused grins.
"And what do you have to offer meat~"
"200 live humans~"
Their faces change from amusement to pleasure, licking their lips at the thought of all the blood they could take and harvest. Looking on at the prince with a peaked interest.
"And what would you get out of this?~" they ask, giggling at their new friend with teasing fingers.
"An alliance...and their bodies after~"
"What is it you're hoping to gain with our...alliance?"
He pulls the spyglass to look behind him, his army grown exponentially from passing travelers and people, now walking alongside the dead.
The 200 humans that went with him are now being pulled behind the army of the dead in shackles. Huddled together in a pile of filthy and beaten people, ready to die with hopeless faces painting them all.
The Vampires look on into the spying orb at his army, pleased faces spread among them as Camus brings it back to his face, a smug look on his face as they look amongst each other. nodding with agreement as they get back to the prince with excited grins, their fangs shone brightly.
"You have a deal...but when will you bring them to us Mortal?"
"Lets just say I have to make a quick stop before I make it...but ill be seeing you very...very soon" he says, crushing the spying orb as they disappear from view, their journey continuing as a roar comes from his right.
The Chimera of the forest stands there challenging the Prince, a mischievous smirk on his face as the black slime from before shoots out at the creature, sticking it down tot he floor as it attempt to break free. Entering its mouth and eyes with quick succession.
"Make it mine!" he screams, the zombies heads snapping at the beast as all of the army immediately sprints at it, biting into with their teeth and stabbing at it, the light fading from all of its faces, slowly rising back from the dead, just like the rest of his army as it joins him.
Getting an idea as he jumps off the horse, waving his hand at it,
"Feed" he says, the dead killing the horse swiftly and eating its fresh corpse, he starts climbing atop the chimera's back with an amused chuckle.
"Their all going to die at my hands, every last one" he says as the beast roars loudly, the army setting back off in the direction of the Capitol, ready to reap destruction on the magic counsel and his sister.
The darkness feeding off of him, gaining strength with each resurrection.
.
.
.
The trio remain in the house, trying to get Camilla to understand the concept of magic, which was much harder to do than Endar anticipated, the sky already turning dim as night approaches. Major half asleep on the floor as he waits.
Endar and Camilla sit crossed legged on the floor, the air still as he explains it once more.
"Alright...lets try something different...remember when I said magic energy is everywhere right?"
She nods in agreement to him.
"That's good, now keep that in mind, there's not a place in Aspendria without some type of magic, the Incantation is going to be the hardest part for you"
"So I just say it and voila?" she says as he scoff.
"No way, you need to do a bit more work than that, come on, lets try it"
They both stand in front of each other as Endar cracks his fingers, she tries to copy him but hurts herself.
"Don't copy my every move, everyone's different and we don't do magic the same way"
"Why not?" Major asks.
"Because I was born with it, Humans can only do magic if they had a wizard in their ancestry or they learn from scratch...humans need incantations and artifacts while witches and elves already have it when their born"
"Seems a bit unfair"
"I didn't make the rules"
He gets in a stance and does it the human way to show her what it looks like.
"Lumium Spherexis"
The incantation creates a small yellow pulse in his hand, shaping the light into a ball, throwing it into the air as it floats just above his head, she smiles.
"Its a pretty spell"
"Yes, buts its also useful, you can make it as bright as you want but its what you do before that makes the spell"
He lifts her hand and traces its outline.
"Magic is a primary source from the palm, imagine you're in a dark room that has no light at all and you're afraid, feel what you want to do in your stomach like an instinct and push the fear out"
"Why afraid?"
"Because magic works best with emotions, it strengthens it and helps the caster push the magic past the fear"
As Camilla closes her eyes she imagines the dark room, feeling uneasy in the environment as she remembers the incantation, slowly muttering it as the room lights up with a tiny pink ball of light. Happiness spreading through her body as the imagined room turns brighter.
A gasp coming from Major as she opens her eyes to see that the pink ball of light had formed in her palm like in her head, floating daintily in her palm as Endar chuckles.
"I knew you'd get it, well done Camilla"
"I cant believe my eyes...I really can do magic..."
Major looks her with fleeting eyes, unsure what to make of the future queen doing raw human magic, but at least it wasn't anything like her brothers. it was beautiful to witness as she smothers it, attempting it a few times before she gets the hang of it.
"You're a fast learner, thank the gods, just in time too lets get out of here while its dark" Endar says, heading for the door as he opens it, the Princess following him with Major on her tail, sticking to his character in silence as they rush through the city streets, less crowded than before, but a lot of them were buying things from the night market.
Offering cover for the trio as they shimmy through crowds and making it to a bridge connecting over a small moat in the middle of the city away from prying eyes, quickly following the witch into it where a secret door remains under the bridge. Entering with rushed footsteps that echoed in the ratways.
A slimy and rancid smell follows the group, the Princess covering her nose in disgust, following the witch though the maze of tunnels, arriving at another door with a hanging sign.
"The Drunken Ogre?"
"Finest bar in all of The Capitol...well, the only bar we can go to anyways"
"Finally...a drink" Major whines, heading in to a crowd of different beasties, the bar bigger than expected. His eyes laying on them all with wide eyes as they stare back with nasty looks, unable to say anything.
Endar walking past, showing his mask as the bar cheers for him, putting his hands on his hips as he yells out.
"Miss me?~"
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