003. "Life force."
There was an awkward silence in the room, the only sounds being the storm raging outside as the ship began to rock back and fourth.
“Come again?” Cyril said, looking at how much wine was left in the bottle. “I know we’ve been drinking, but I am far from drunk at the moment.”
“I can freely cast dark magic.” I said.
Cyril scratched his chin.
“Just like that? No explanation?”
I nodded.
“Just a gift of mine.”
“Well… quite a gift then.” He poured himself more wine catching up with me. “Quite foolish really, letting someone of your ability and knowledge be banished entirely.”
I sighed.
“The Queen advocated for me personally, but… The Council.”
“Ahh… The Council.” Cyril sighed. “Explains such foolish decision then, a bunch of fools, all of them.”
“They are there to make sure the Queen doesn’t abuse her power unlike the leader of The Empire.”
Cyril chuckled.
“Watch what you say Vivian, one wrong word and a guardsman will have more than enough reason to imprison you, or if you are lucky meet a quick end from their spear.”
I froze.
“They… still imprison people?”
Cyril raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, they do.” He took a big sip from his wine. “The elves will banish anyone they deem trouble. Meanwhile... The Empire will arrest those that defy them, imprison them, and torture them with work beyond what any man can handle.”
He paused for a moment, staring out the window.
“Either you live long enough to find a way out, or you hope your death is quick and painless.”
I shuddered at that thought of going through either.
“Do you know of anyone that got out of their prisons?” I asked.
Cyril nodded, turning around in his chair. Lifting up his hair showing the back of his neck. A brand of The Empires symbol was burned into the back of his neck.
“Had it since I was a child, the people of my village were slaughtered and everything we had built was burnt to the ground by the Empire. Anyone that survived was arrested and forced to clear the rubble for their next expansion.”
I had my hand over my mouth.
“Goddesses…”
Cyril smirked.
“No Goddess was there to save me, I did what I had to do to survive and…” He raised his goblet. “Here I am now, a dark elf with more wealth than a majority of his peers.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that Cyril.” I looked at the brand on the back of his neck. “It makes me think my banishment is nothing compared to what you have been through.”
He shook his head.
“Nonsense.” He stood up from his chair, sitting against the wall emptying the bottle of wine into his goblet. “They forced you out of your home, took everything away from you, marked you as a traitor, why… they even left you to rot in this ship with only a sliver of coin. I’d say we are both similar.”
“You really think so?”
“Indeed.”
“...what I did was wrong though, you were just an innocent child.”
“What did you do, Vivian?” Cyril asked.
“…”
...how did you tell someone you were responsible for taking someone’s life?
“Take your time.” He said, looking at me as he worked on his wine.
I took a deep breath and exhaled.
“I defied the Queen’s orders and studied material outside of my scope, I wanted to practice a forbidden art that has been forgotten for ages.”
Cyril sat back down, setting down his empty goblet.
“Do tell…”
“It’s hard to explain, but… Imagine me cutting my hand open with a blade, royal elves can use light magic to heal their wounds, forest elves can craft potions with their magic to close wounds.”
“And we dark elves have nothing except for wraps and stinging pain?” Cyril said.
“…what if I told you we do?”
“Really?”
I nodded, getting up, taking a last sip of my wine.
“So… instead of conjuring a spell or crafting a potion from the unique plants and magic of the forest. Imagine… taking whatever energy from the living things around us. Plants… insects… animals… other individuals. We can take their life force and use it to heal our wounds.”
“You can do that?” Cyril said.
I nodded.
“I’ve done it. Multiple times.”
“Wow…” Cyril shook his head in disbelief. “You’ll have to show me.”
“That’s… the problem.”
“Hm?”
“I’ve not mastered the spell. If done correctly I can choose what subjects I can take from, but… I only know how to gather the energy in an area.”
I was pacing around the small room, my arms wrapped around.
“I was careless last time…”
“What happened?” Cyril asked.
“A royal guard was on patrol just outside my study deep underground. He was passing by while I casted the spell.”
“…other elves in the castle heard his screams echo throughout the stairwell while I drained his life force and killed him.”
— Written by Froey. —