Warlock of The White Rose

(Author- Hey! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!)

Cassian follows behind Master Sebastion as they slowly descend deeper into a narrow flight of stone stairs. A soft chill seems to resonate in the stairway, the only light permitted into the room is that from the lantern that the old man is carrying.

On their way to the staircase, Cassian noticed that the dimness that he has experienced since his arrival is a theme that seems to stretch through the entire mansion. The mansion, from what he can tell, seems to be very luxurious.

The walls are all made of dark oaklike wood, the hallways are filled with luxurious carpets, the walls are decorated in many large tapestries all of which seem to retell some story of the family, and the ceilings support delicate-looking silver chandeliers which are the source of the little light within the house.

The only other people whom he had seen were a few maids, all of which were dressed in identical uniforms and had their hair pulled back into a tight bun.

Unlike the loud and bustling streets of the town where he has spent his entire life, the mansion holds an almost refined and diligent silence. With only the occasional quiet conversations between the maids breaking the silence.

When they walked past, he noticed that the maids all glanced at him with a strange look of curiosity on their faces. Despite being cleaned up and dressing in a nice white collared cotton shirt, and simply brow slacks, he can't help but feel a bit out of place here.

Suddenly the silence that he and his new master have maintained this entire time is broken. "Cassian, I assume you know little to nothing about the Rose family, politics, and magicians?" The coarse voice of the old man echoes throughout the narrow staircase.

"Yeah, that's right," Cassian replies, purposely keeping his response short. In the short time he has known Sebastion, he has already learned that less is more.

"That's to be expected. I'll start by explaining the basic information on the rose family as we will be walking for a short time still." Sebastion declares calmly.

Remaining silent, Cassian stares at the back of Sebations's head waiting for the explanation.

"To start with, what do you know?"

"I know that the Roses are a family that is famed for being the most powerful noble family and they are the emperor's greatest supporter. Other than that, virtually nothing." Endorian states. As a street rat, he had been more worried about finding food and a place to sleep rather than who was in power.

"Hm. You aren't necessarily wrong. At least not on the surface."

"On the surface?" Cassian questions.

"To put it simply, the family is divided into two, the White Rose and the Red Rose."

Cassian keeps his mouth closed as he listens. Waiting for Sebastion to continue.

"The Red Rose is the main family. They enjoy all the power, prestige, and luxury of the family. Meanwhile, the White Rose is the branch family. Whether it be preparing a ball, assassinating targets, or any other acts the Red Roses wish to disassociate with, they force upon us." Sebastion snarls with a clear hatred in his voice.

Cassian remains silent as the silence is not an opening for conversation, but rather a moment for Sebastion to quell his emotions.

"The Red Roses believe themselves naturally superior to us. Both in blood and in strength. For years they have treated our family like trash. And the new head of the Red Rose, Leonidas, has deemed that he can even take the Lady as his concubine!"

Hearing this, a dark emotion swells in Cassian's chest his heart feels as if it's being crushed.

Noticing the ugly expression on the boy's face Sebastion smirks. How could an old experienced gentleman like himself not realize what was happening? 'Heh. I guess there truly is no need to worry about his loyalty. What a useful dog the Lady has found.'

"The Lady, because of Leonidas's power politically, individually, and militarily, was unable to refuse his advances without the White Rose being even more abused than it already is." Sebastion continues gently attempting to manipulate the boy's heart.

"I see," Cassian growls through gritted teeth. How can this not anger him? Since being rescued by her, he hasn't been able to keep his mind off of her.

Yes, he knows even now that she is using him for his power, but is that so wrong? Just because she needs his power doesn't change the fact that she saved him and gave him his purpose. That is a debt he can never repay. As the thought of the Lady, whose name he doesn't even know, the strange warm comforting feeling that he felt on those rainy streets that night returns to him.

"Why?"

"The full history is too much to explain currently. To keep it simple, from generation to generation the Red Rose used their superior connections and influence to force the White Rose into submission and they murder anyone they considered too powerful to control."

At this time the two of them finally reach a large wooden door that has torches on either side providing the only light in the corridor. The cold chill from being so deep underground pierces Cassian's skin causing him to shiver.

Upon opening the large wooden door. Inside the door is a large stone dungeon that seems to stretch as far as the eye can see, which in itself is not far considering the complete lack of light.

Grabbing a torch from its wall mount, Sebastion proceeds to head further into the perceived dungeon, Cassian following closely behind.

For a few minutes, the duo walks deeper into the strangely abandoned prison in silence until finally, all the metal bars

"Tell me, boy. What do you know of magicians?"

Cassian's knowledge of magicians, like most commoners, is almost nonexistent. He has only heard tales of them. All of these tend to label them as, strange existences that are capable of causing even stranger phenomenons through the use of magic.

"Not much. Just stories." He replies keeping it short and to the point.

Noticing that Cassian seems to have finally begun to adjust, Sebastion begins his explanation.

"To begin with, magicians is the name that commoners gave people who can use magic. However, to us with closer connections with magic, the term magician is hardly ever used. The term is too broad as amongst magicians, there are three types of magic users. Wizards or witches, sorcerers or sorceresses, and Warlocks."

After a moment's pause, Sebastion continues, "Wizards or witches are the most common form of magic users. For reasons I will explain later, they do not possess their own magic, so they channel the magic from the outer world to create a wide variety of spells. However, despite their flexibility, they are slower and their casting sequences are fragile."

Cassian silently listens to the man's questions racing through his mind. However, despite his curiosity, he keeps his mouth shut. The aches still pulsing throughout his body from the answers to his earlier questions made sure of that. Questions were appreciated. When asked for.

"The next types are the sorcerers. These magic users are considered the 'perfect' magic users. Unlike wizards, sorcerers can utilize the mana within their bodies.

While they can still use the same magic methods as wizards, however for the most part they choose not to. When using their own magic, their casting sequences are extremely efficient."

Sebastion coughs for a moment before continuing.

"Then finally, the Warlock. The Warlock is far more dangerous than both the other types of magicians and usually results in abilities comparable to a wizard."

Sebastion stops walking as he reaches a large stone door. Pushing hard against the door, the old man groans as the door slowly screeches against the floor, sliding it open.

"The last one is the most important for you. after all, you, are a Warlock."