psycen

[psycen]

Empyrean

The eighth chapter of the in-progress novel, Blood Knight.

The dirt of the unpaved forest path crunched under foot as we walked down the empty road. Birds sang gleefully among the treetops, and animals scattered upon observing our approach. The forest’s eyes were watching us with caution, holding its breath as it observed the alien intruders.

Athena followed close beside me, with Jerilyn closely observing our rear. “And while I was re-reading a book on alchemic practices, I discovered that some of the ideas could be replicated if I added a bit of mana to the rituals. I practiced by starting to make a homunculus, but I didn’t have most of the ingredients, so I used some replacements to get the job done. For example, instead of a horse’s womb, I used a variety of eggs resting under a nesting shrub. I tried drawing a few magic circles into the eggs to see which would work best. I had to feed it once a week with Gorgon blood, but it seemed to work better when I used my menst-”

“Ok, stop right there,” I cut Athena off before she could continue her exposition.

“What’s the problem?”

I sighed. “Are you always so open?”

Athena spent a second in silence. “There wasn’t much I wouldn’t tell my parents. They used to listen to what I had to say, even if it wasn’t interesting for them. They never discouraged me from saying what I wanted to say.”

I thought of something. “What happened when you gained your mana circle?”

“I don’t know. The normal process I suppose. I saw a premonition from the fractural of a mana circle and drew it over my heart.”

“Mana circles aren’t normally drawn by human hands.”

“They’re not?” Her tone seemed strangely flat for how surprised she was. “I always thought that’s how it worked. When I told my parents about it, they told me to keep it secret from other people.”

“You told your parents?” So many thoughts ran through my head as I tried to make sense of the situation. “So, is that why Lord Regalis supported Magnus?” I mostly asked myself.

“Father wanted to protect me,” Athena explained as she kicked a small stone. “Most divergent mages never make it past the age of twelve. The church will find them before then,” she said with a hint of sadness.

“Well, I’m still alive despite being in my mid-twenties.”

“Do you have a divergent mana circle?” She looked at me with a slight tilt of her head.

I unsheathed my stiletto, pricking my finger. I controlled the blood draining from the wound to create an outline of a crimson red rose.

“I am a blood mage.” I gave up control of my blood, letting it land on my skin. “I saw a vision from the fractural when I was a lot older than you are now. I can reproduce any magic with blood as a substitute, and I can store blood in a pocket universe created to do so.”

A massive explosion of mana could be felt deeper within the forest, off the beaten path. The source created ripples in the ambient mana, filling the air with dread.

“Stay here,” I instructed Athena, stepping in front of her. “Hide yourself, and don’t come out until I return.”

Athena swiftly jogged behind a bush, remaining out of sight from the road. Once I was sure Athena was hidden, I started to approach the burst of mana. The forest was large, taking me a while to wade through it. As the ambient mana calmed down, I could sense a faint trace of mana. I found a small opening in the forest, the convergence of mana being inside. The mana was wild, just like what you would see in a Talentless, but at its centre was a mana circle, though it was completely dormant.

I slowly walked into the opening, the sun bearing down on me from above. A stone flew at me, but I knocked it to the side before it hit me. There was a girl in the centre of the opening, continuing to throw any sticks or stones that she could find around her. She had long reached physical maturity, being in her late teens, wearing a tattered dress that was elaborately wrapped. She had two different eye colours, her left eye being silver and her right a dark green, and her hair was a shiny, dark-wood brown with lighter, blonde highlights. She cowered away from me, putting up as much of a fight as she could.

“Stay away,” she desperately screamed as I approached her.

“I’m here to help,” I tried to reassure her before grabbing her shoulders.

The girl shuddered and froze as if fear had overwhelmed her. I let go of her shoulders and gave her some space.

The mana around her started gathering around the mana circle. While I was preoccupied by the sudden change in mana flow, the girl reared for a kick. Once I noticed, I had little time to protect myself, crossing my arms over my chest to lessen the blow. The kick was powerful, knocking me out of the clearing and into a nearby tree. The blow knocked all the air out of my lungs and breathing became painful.

The girl’s body posture had changed, showing complete confidence in her own abilities. She charged in, readying for a punch. Mana was being poured into the punch like her fists were her weapons. I gave up on defending myself, opting to dodge the punch instead. It was the right choice, as if I had tried to protect myself, my arms would have vaporized and my head along with them, just like how the tree behind me had a chunk taken out of it.

This girl couldn’t be taken lightly, her every mana-filled swing bringing destruction to the environment around her. I managed to take advantage of an opening, using this opportunity to deal a blow, aiming right under her right set of ribs. The strike broke my hands as something was protecting her like a set of armour. I took a blow to the stomach as she dealt a counterattack. Fortunately, the punch couldn’t build enough mana to vaporize me, but it was more than enough to hurt.

I created distance between the two of us, giving me time to heal my hands. I was forced to summon my armour to protect me, even if it was only able to do so for the weaker blows.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

She didn’t respond. She left me no room to recover, charging in for another blitz attack. All I could do was defend against the oncoming wave of attacks until my hands healed. I cast Blood Mist to conceal my presence. I used this time to analyse her mana flow, and upon closer inspection, her mana seemed to build invisible objects from thin air, such as armour around her body and a pair of gauntlets around her fists.

“I don’t want to fight you,” I tried once more to reason with her.

As I hide in the mist, the girl created a new item for herself, this time a great sword, pouring mana into its blade.

“I won’t let you take us!” she yelled, growling in a lower tone.  

She swung the sword, creating a gust of wind, dispelling the scarlet mist. The sword she held could actually be seen by the eye, a hot blue flame emanating from the clear blade. Another swing of her sword sent a wave of fire. I had barely enough time to cast Flowing Blood, redirecting the flames that would have hit me with the water-like flow of blood, like a stone being pushed by a rushing river. As I summoned my great sword, I could feel the intense heat flow pass me. As the wave passed, I noticed that nothing around me was burned. The girl followed her attack with an overhead strike, which I managed to block with my sword, the flickering flames licking the sides of my blade. Her face was twisted with a rage directed at me. I used all my strength to push her away from me.

“I’ve killed many of you shadows on my journey,” she proclaimed threateningly, pointing her sword at me. “Don’t think a single Knife will be enough to stop me.”

“Don’t-” I dropped my sword, approaching the girl at a range her great sword would be ineffective, pulling out my stiletto, “-compare me to those damned Knives!”

The first strike to the torso was unsuccessful, the blade bouncing off the invisible layer of mana. The girl used this opportunity to strike me with her knee. I blocked the strike with my hands, getting knocked away from her.

She seemed to be hesitant in using this opportunity to continue attacking. We both kept our distance, daring the other to attack first. Every small movement we made communicated our intentions. I took initiative, lengthening my stiletto with blood, charging in as if I was going in for a stab. The girl took the bait, exploiting my lack of defence with a horizontal swing towards my torso. I twisted myself over the blade, landing on my hands. I used the footing to direct my legs around her neck, grappling her to the ground.

She struggled to free herself from my hold, clawing and punching, until she relaxed. She tapped the side of my thigh, so I let her free. She gasped for air, taking a minute to recover. I sat on the ground in front of her, waiting for her to catch her breath.

“What do you want with my sister?” She asked aggressively.

“Your sister? Was she the one who released that large amount of mana?”

“No,” she paused for a moment, “that was me.”

“Where is your sister?” I inquired. “Is she with you?”

“Why do you want to know?” the girl glared at me.

“I want to help individuals who are Talentless or have a divergent mana circle. If you wish, I can help both you and your sister find somewhere safe.”

“So, you really weren’t sent here by the church.” She relaxed a bit. “It would be safe to guess that you were once Talentless as well?”

“Once.”

We sat in silence for a while.

“Why do you help the Talentless?” The girl asked.

“Why else but to fight the injustice of this world,” I proclaimed with heavy heart. “My- my mother is talentless. She struggled raising me.”

���Can I refuse your help?”

“Would it be selfish of me to say no?”

“Very.”

We sat in silence once more.

“What’s your name?” I broke the silence.

“Karla,” she briefly answered.

“No last name?”

“My sister has the last name of Marquis, but I have not taken on that name.”

“I’m Ciara,” I introduced myself.

“No last name?”

“No last name.”

Karla hesitated before asking. “What is your mother like?”

“Why do you ask?”

“My sister never knew her mother, so I was wondering what it could have been like.”

I smiled, reminiscing over memories. “My mother has a bright smile that never fades. Every night she would tell me a bedtime story or share knowledge that her mother shared with her.”

“Maybe if she grew up like a normal child,” Karla gritted her teeth, “she wouldn’t have need for me to be with her.”

“That can’t be true. She would probably tell you that you’re very important to her.”

“She can’t,” Karla snapped abruptly.

I was shocked by her sudden outburst.

“I dragged her out here, running away from home, and she doesn’t even know why. I’ve put her through danger because I thought it was the best thing for her at the time. I can’t be sure anymore. Now we don’t only have Father chasing us, but the Church as well. I only cause trouble for my sister. Do you know how hard it is- it is to- I can’t even-”

I pulled Karla in, resting her head on my breast. “I know all too well. Everything will be fine.”

She was stiff for a while before relaxing, letting her head slip onto my lap.

“No one can truly understand how I feel,” Karla lamented, relaxing, but not yet opening, the locks to her heart. “How can I trust that you will help us?”

“I won’t ask you to trust me,” I assured her, “but I will help you, even if you keep a sword pointed to my back.”

“Would it be selfish of me to ask you to take care of my sister for me?” Karla asked.

“Very. But I won’t refuse when I have the ability to help you,” I comforted Karla. “I’m travelling towards the border town nearby. I can take you that far. Adventurers there are much more accepting of the Talentless.”

“What about the church?” Karla inquired. “While my sister may be Talentless-”

“The church has little power in border towns compared to adventurers,” I interrupted Karla. “The church is more focused on currying favour with adventurers in border towns than looking for divergent mages.”

“Thank you. Please take care of my sister. Please take care of Cherbell for me.” Karla requested, before drifting off.

She quickly came back to consciousness. After a while, she jolted out of my lap and stood up.

Cherbell Marquis looked at me, her curious eyes gently gazing into mine. “May I ask who you are?”